The Shiny Assassin
by AzureF
Summary: It was a strange ability, one that no one knew much about. Why was Tessa able to attract Shiny Pokemon like a magnet? Whatever the cause, she’ll follow her heart and rise to the occasion!
1. Ruby Sunrise

The thing about this story is, well, there's many things about this story. For one, don't read it if you hate Mary-sue's, because it IS one huge Mary-sue. Makes me wince to think I wrote it... but it was my first fic, so it's okay, I guess. For two, I've learned that it's been stolen from me before, so I'm kinda protective of it...

Okay, the third fact is that this story, horrible though it may be, is the story needed to understand almost all my other fics. Even though I'm none too proud of it, and am planning to rewrite it to a better version soon... after I finish my newest 'in progress' fic. Funny how things turned out that way.

I gotta take a break...

**The Shiny Assassin**

'Whoa, that's a weird looking Gyarados' thought Tessa as she faced the incredibly annoyed creature with her only Pokemon, Flame the Charizard, standing before her. The Gyarados rearing out of the lake was a beautiful red color, which sparkled in the sun. She snapped back to her senses as she saw that the red Gyarados was about to attack with a powerful Dragon Rage.

"Flame, dodge it and use Slam!" She yelled.

The Charizard nodded and sprang from the ground, leaving the rampaging Gyarados disorientated and confused when it found that there was nothing to attack. Flame slammed into it from behind, sending it flying out of the water. The Gyarados struggled upright and prepared to use an attack, but was surprised to find that its foe was nowhere to be seen.

"Flame, use Slash!" shouted Tessa.

Suddenly, from above the Gyarados, Flame dived down and slashed the creature with wicked claws. The Gyarados fell back, stunned.

"Poke'ball, go!" shouted Tessa as she threw an Ultra Ball at the Gyarados. In a flash of red light the Pokemon was absorbed into the sphere. The ball twitched once...twice, and finally three times, then went still.

"Cool! I caught a red Gyarados!" exclaimed Tessa, running to grab the Poke'ball, "Thanks for your help, Flame!"

"You're quite welcome," replied Flame, rustling his magnificent wings "I was itching for a battle anyway."

"I wonder why it's red? Maybe it's one of those 'Shiny's' we're always hearing about!"

"Like that orange Shellder that that girl had in the Pokemon Center?"

"Yeah! I think that's it! We're so lucky, Flame, these are really rare!" exclaimed Tessa.

"Well, as long as you don't pay more attention to it than me, I'll be fine with it." said Flame, smiling slyly.

"Oh, Flame, how could I not pay attention to you? You're my best friend!"

"I was just making sure."

"We're going to have to give him a name, and then train him."

"You take care of the name, and I'll help with the training."

"Well, he's a bright, shining red, so how about... Ruby?" asked Tessa thoughtfully.

"You've done it again! Perfect name, just like mine." smirked the Charizard.

"Come on, Flame, what do you really think?"

"I think it's creative, and it fits."

"Good. What do you say to letting him out so we can meet him properly?"

"Go ahead, I'm here if he tries anything."

Tessa pushed a button on the Poke'ball and red light flashed. When the light faded, the Gyarados was lying on the ground before the trainer. It reared up, looking like it would attack, but saw Flame and thought better of it. It settled back on the ground, looking pitiful.

"Oh, great, I'm caught." The Gyarados moaned, "What will my friends think?! I hope my new trainer is nicer than that Charizard."

"Being caught isn't so bad, and if you hadn't tried to attack me Flame wouldn't have had to fight you. He's actually really nice, and so am I. I gave you a name, would you like to hear it?"

The Gyarados looked at Tessa in surprise, gaping its huge mouth even farther.

"You can understand me?" He asked in awe.

"Yeah, Flame taught me when we had just set out together. Do you still want to know what we named you?"

"Yeah, sure..." stammered the Gyarados.

"Ruby."

"Wow, that's a lot better than my old name! In the lake I was called Floppy... pathetic, isn't it? It's because of my Magikarp phase." sighed Ruby.

"Well, now that we have you properly renamed, we can go to the Pokemon Center and rest up. Tomorrow we start training."

"Sounds fun."

"It is."

* * *

"Okay, Ruby, use Bite!" Called Tessa. 

Ruby surged foreword and bit down with all his might onto a large foam bobber in the water. The bobber beeped three times. Ruby let go of the bobber and turned to Tessa expectantly.

"Good job, Ruby!" she said, looking at a computerized device in her hand, "You improved by fifty percent on the power of your Bite already!"

"Well, your training methods really help." replied Ruby, who was positively glowing with pride.

"At this rate, I think you're ready for your first battle!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah, do you think you're ready?"

"I'm more than ready!" replied Ruby enthusiastically.

"Good." said Tessa. She looked behind her for Flame, "Hey, Flame, do you want to come watch Ruby's fist battle?"

The Charizard snapped awake from his doze and was instantly beside Tessa.

"Do I? Of course!"

"Then let's go!"

Tessa called Ruby back into his Poke'ball, and jumped on Flame's back. The Charizard sprang effortlessly from the ground and circled the small house.

"Where to?"

"Let's go to the battle center, we should find some good battles there!"

Flame set off at a breathtaking speed; Tessa barely had any time to take in the view. Soon, they landed at the entrance to the battle center.

"Wow!" said a boy walking past, "Is that the Pokemon you're going to be battling with?"

"No," said Tessa, smiling "I'm training a different one, he's just coming for the show."

"Cool! I'll be sure to watch that battle!" said the boy as he waved goodbye.

"Thanks!" called Tessa after him.

She walked with Flame into the entrance of the battle center. A lady was waiting at the front desk. She asked the level and how many Pokemon would be fighting, then looked into the computer and found a person who had the same number and close to the same level Pokemon.

"Found one! A boy from Jhoto named Hiro will be your battle partner today. He will be waiting in the next room."

Tessa walked with Flame into the room, which was a huge battle arena with high seats for people who wanted to observe battles. A trainer was waiting at the opposite end.

To Tessa's surprise, it was the same boy she had talked to earlier.

"Hey, you must be Tessa, right? I'm Hiro. I didn't think I would be battling you, but I'm certainly glad that I don't have to battle that Charizard!"

Tessa nodded in reply as the announcer told their names. Soon, the signal to send out their pokemon was displayed.

"Squirtle, go!" called Hiro, throwing out a Poke'ball. Tessa grit her teeth, this Squirtle was at least five levels higher than Ruby!

"Ruby, go!" she yelled as she sent out her Gyarados. Ruby exploded from the orb in a shower of sparkles that made the crowd gasp. Someone from the audience shouted out.

"Hey! It's a Shiny!"

"Wow!"

"I didn't think those existed!"

Tessa concentrated on the battle in front of her. The Squirtle took in a deep breath and let out a blast of multicolored bubbles. Ruby easily dodged most of them, but a few hit their mark and considerably weakened him.

"Ruby, aim carefully and use Dragon Rage!"

Ruby tried to aim at the Squirtle, who was dodging around like a playground ball, but couldn't quite get the Pokemon in his sights.

"Squirtle, Skull Bash!"

The Squirtle came flying at full tilt towards Ruby, who still couldn't get a good aim at it. Tessa thought quickly, and called out a plan.

"Ruby, jump on my mark...NOW!"

Ruby jumped straight up into the air as the Squirtle barreled towards him at full tilt.

"Use Twister!"

Ruby while still in the air, created a huge tornado that spiraled in the middle of the battlefield. The Squirtle, still barreling towards Ruby, couldn't stop in time to avoid it, and got caught in the whipping winds.

"Ruby, jump out and use Dragon Rage!"

Ruby slithered out of the tornado and blasted a full power Dragon Rage towards the middle of it, where the Squirtle still spun. The tornado exploded in a fiery flare. When the dust cleared, the Squirtle lay fainted in the center of the arena.

The audience let loose a thunderous applause, whooping and cheering. Someone in the crowd stood up and shouted.

"Let's give three cheers for the Shiny Assassin!" He rallied.

"The Shiny Assassin!"

"The Shiny Assassin!"

"The SHINY ASSASSIN!"

Tessa shook her head in exasperation at the cry and went up to Ruby.

"Great job!" she praised, "You kept your head against a much stronger opponent, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, but if it wasn't for your plan, I never would have won."

"You give me too much credit."

"No he doesn't," said Flame, coming up behind them "your quick thinking has won me countless battles that I otherwise would have lost."

"Come on, guys, " said Tessa, brushing off the compliments "lets go and talk to Hiro."

Tessa and her Pokemon walked to the other side of the arena, where Hiro was congratulating his Squirtle on a good job. He looked up as Tessa approached.

"Hi, that was a great battle! Is your Squirtle okay?" asked Tessa.

"Yeah, he's fine," said Hiro, picking up the Squirtle and setting it on his head, where it clung like a hat, "How are your Pokemon doing?"

"They're great...Hey!" replied Tessa, suddenly noticing that Flame and Ruby were laughing, "What are you guys laughing about?"

"He has a Squirtle on his head! What's there not to laugh about!" snorted Flame, barely able to finish the sentences before doubling in a new fit of laughter.

"They seem to find something funny, don't they?" asked Hiro, who could not understand the Pokemon. The Squirtle on his head looked at Flame and Ruby indignantly.

"They find it extremely funny that your Squirtle is on your head."

"Oh...Wait! How did you understand them?"

"I was taught the Pokemon language when I fist set off. I can understand any Pokemon there is."

"Cool, can you ask what my Squirtle's name is? I'm afraid I don't know it, and I've been calling him 'Squirtle' instead."

"Sure, I can do that." Tessa looked at the Squirtle, "What's your name?"

"I'm Pokey." replied the Squirtle.

"His name is Pokey." said Tessa.

"Thanks a lot, Tessa" said Hiro. He glanced at his watch, and jumped with surprise, "Oh, no! I've got a battle in less than fifteen minutes! I'd better go... see you around!"

Tessa waved as Hiro hurried away, then turned to her Pokemon.

"Well, let's go get a treat for ourselves for Ruby's first win! I vote ice cream!"

Tessa smiled as her two Pokemon cheered. They walked to the front desk to receive their prize money for winning the battle.

"Let's go then!"


	2. 2: Blue Storm

Chapter Two

The Girafarig in the bushes lay down next to her newly born foal, which squeaked and snuggled closer to her side. She smiled warmly and began to groom between his ears when an interesting observation came to her that made her pause; every other Girafarig in her herd had pink manes and noses, but her foal had a blue nose and mane. She shrugged it off and continued grooming.

The herd's stallion, and father of the foal, approached the bushes cautiously. He was worried about his best friend and mate, so he called into the thicket.

"Are you ready to come out yet, Tremble?" he asked tentatively, "Are you well?"

Tremble let out a bell-like peal of laughter, which echoed throughout the home plains of the herd. The sudden noise made the stallion rear up in surprise.

"Don't worry, Mottle, I'm fine. As soon as your son is able to walk, we'll come out."

Mottle, convinced that everything was as it should be, smiled to himself in joy. He shook his mane and trotted back to the herd to wait for his mate to appear. The other females in the herd bombarded him with questions about Tremble's well being, but he merely smiled and said that she was fine, and that they would all see the foal soon.

In an hour or so, Tremble's dainty head emerged from the bushes. She turned around, convincing the foal that it was all right, and walked out of the thicket. In a few seconds, a rather shaky, tiny foal followed her.

Mottle gasped, the foal was a Shiny! As he wobbled towards the herd, a barely distinguishable sparkle surrounded him. Mottle was overjoyed and, at the same time, horrified. He knew that humans kept their eyes out for those rarest of rare Pokemon, and would capture them, no matter what stood in their way. Despite the danger, he was overwhelmingly proud to be the father of a Shiny.

He trotted up to Tremble, and they touched noses in greeting. The little foal looked up at him curiously, and squeaked. Mottle laughed lightly, touching noses to the foal as well.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" said Tremble.

"The most beautiful... a Shiny..." mused Mottle.

"What? What do you mean?" asked Tremble.

"Every Pokemon species has a different color, but it is extremely rare. They're called Shiny's. I saw one when I was just a foal, and asked my mother about it, and she told me what they were." he looked up worriedly and joyfully at the same time, "We're the parents of a Shiny!"

"What's wrong?" asked Tremble worriedly.

"Humans collect Shiny's; they'll capture them at any price, and sell them for money. Shiny's are almost always miserable in their life."

"Oh, no! We'll have to keep him away from humans, then!"

"I'm afraid we won't be able to keep humans away from him for long, he has to live his own life. When he grows up and has to leave the herd, he'll be on his own."

"We'll keep him safe until then, and warn him for his whole life against humans."

Both Mottle and Tremble looked at the small foal, which was now nursing happily.

"It'll have to work..."

* * *

_Two years later..._

"Ruby, Hyper Beam!"

The red Gyarados absorbed energy into his mouth and let it go in a concentrated beam that knocked his opponent, a Snorlax, to the ground. The Snorlax struggled to stand, but fell back, fainted.

"Yeah! Way to go, Ruby!" yelled Tessa.

The girl they were battling sulkily called her Snorlax back, and pulled a new Poke'ball out of her bag. She threw it onto the battlefield, and when the red light cleared, a Ponyta stood defiantly in the middle of the arena.

Tessa called back Ruby, and sent Flame out. 'That evens the odds for her' thought Tessa. She looked worriedly at the scrawny Ponyta and sighed, too many people were challenging her that simply weren't ready for such a test. But she had accepted this battle because the Snorlax was on a high level, and that meant that she had to fight the Ponyta as well.

"Flame, use bite!" she called.

"Ponyta, use agility!" called the other girl.

As Flame speeded towards the Ponyta, the Pokemon suddenly zipped behind him.

"Ponyta, Take Down!"

Tessa watched in horror as Flame was slammed into the ground. She was relieved when he stood back up, mostly unscathed except for a few bruises. The Ponyta, however, was looking very unstable and about to collapse.

"Ponyta, another Take Down!" called the girl.

"STOP!" yelled Tessa, making both the trainer and Pokemon look up.

"What?" asked the girl, annoyed.

"That Ponyta won't be able to stand another Take Down. If this continues, it will get seriously hurt!"

The girl looked at her Ponyta, and back to Flame, and then at Tessa. Her eyes widened, and she ran up to her Ponyta.

"Oh, my gosh! Ponyta, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking! I even forgot to tell Snorlax that he did a good job! Can you ever forgive me?" she sobbed

The Ponyta nickered softly into the girl's ear and nuzzled her shoulder.

"She says she will, but right now she needs a good rest."

"What?" said the girl in surprise, "You mean you can understand her?"

"Yeah, Flame taught me." said Tessa, scratching behind Flame's head.

"Oh! Can you tell me her name?" asked the girl.

"It's Smoke." said the Ponyta, still nuzzling the girl.

"Her name is Smoke." said Tessa, "Do you need a lift to the Pokemon Center?"

"Yeah, Thanks!" exclaimed the Girl, "Hey, what's your name? I'm Willow."

"My name's Tessa." said Tessa, hopping on Flames back, "Come on, hop aboard!"

* * *

Willow called Smoke back into her Poke'ball and jumped on Flame's back behind Tessa. Soon, they were on their way to the Pokemon Center in Mahogany Town. 

"Yes, mom, I know! You've told me a thousand times to stay away from humans!" said the blue Girafarig, becoming frustrated, "I won't go near any, Okay! I mean, I'm old enough to take care of myself now!"

"I know, Blue..." said Tremble, on the verge of tears, "But I'll just get so worried if you don't promise..."

Blue looked at the ground, feeling ashamed at his outburst.

"I'm sorry, mom, I just get so frustrated. I've been told my whole life to stay away from humans, and I know to by now. I know what will happen if I let one capture me. But I promise, I will do my best not to get captured, or be seen, by a human."

"That's all I can ask for..." replied Tremble sadly.

The two Girafarig turned their heads as they heard someone approach. After a bit of rustling, Mottle squeezed through the thick brush beside them.

"Hello, I'm here to see you off, Blue."

"Thanks, dad."

"Remember what we always tell you?" asked Mottle.

"Yeah." said Blue, laughing a little sadly.

"One last thing, never look back. If you look back, you'll only want to come back for the rest of your life. Keep going straight until you can't hear the herd anymore. Am I clear?"

"Very." replied Blue.

"Good. Now be on your way, and remember that we'll always love you. Go!"

Blue ran through the forest, his mother's farewell call ringing in his ears.

"Go, Blue! You were meant for great things, I knew it as soon as you were born! Don't look back, for ahead your future awaits!"

* * *

Flame touched down by the Pokemon Center in a cloud of dust. Tessa and Willow dismounted, jumping the last few feet to the ground easily.

"Thanks Flame," said Tessa, calling the Charizard back into his Poke'ball "you can take a rest now."

"Hey Tessa!" called Willow, "Thank you for bringing me to the Pokemon Center, and helping me realize how stupid I was being."

"You weren't stupid, Willow, you just made a mistake."

"Thanks anyway."

"No problem, let's get our Pokemon rested, shall we?"

Willow nodded and they walked into the Pokemon Center. A few people in the corner were showing off their Pokemon, but otherwise there was no one in the lobby. They approached the front desk cautiously.

"Just a second!" called someone from the back room, "I'll be there in a jiffy."

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, like plates falling on the floor. Tessa and Willow glanced at each other, and Tessa leaned over the counter.

"Can we help?" she asked.

"No, no. I've got it." said the voice, "A few dishes slipped, that's all."

The door opened and a rather vexed looking nurse stepped out. She straightened her rumpled dress and smiled at the two trainers.

"Hello, I'm Nurse Joy. What can I do for you today?"

"Our Pokemon just need to be healed, that's all." replied Tessa.

"Okay, I'll take them and put them in the machine. It'll only be a short wait, so why don't you help yourselves to a drink." she said, waving towards the drink machine.

"Thank you." said Tessa.

The two trainers walked over to the drink machine and got two pops. They sat down near the table where the people were showing off their Pokemon.

"My Flareon is the best!" said one boy, "She can easily beat a Cloyster!"

"Oh, yeah? My Skiploom could whip your Flareon any day!"

"Really? You wanna prove it?"

"Yeah, as soon as I get her refreshed, I'll battle you!"

"Bring it on!"

Tessa and Willow glanced at each other. Tessa rolled her eyes, and Willow giggled. The boys in the corner stopped talking and stared at them, just noticing that they were there.

"How about you two? You _girls_ think you have anything that can beat my Flareon?"

Tessa, fighting spirit riled, stood to her full height, which was a full seven inches taller than the boy, and looked down at him menacingly.

"Easily!"

"Well then! How about a battle once I'm finished with his Skiploom?" quipped the boy, undaunted by Tessa's confidence.

"You're on!"

* * *

Tessa stood outside the Pokemon center, facing the boy and his Flareon. She hesitated, deciding which one of her Pokemon to use. This Flareon was indeed powerful, but it was reckless also. She remembered what the boy had done to the Skiploom before, and her anger flared even hotter. 

"Ruby, go!" she shouted, throwing the Poke'ball.

Ruby once again made a grand entrance onto the battlefield. The boy smirked and laughed.

"You think that just having a Shiny will win you this battle? Hah!"

"I think nothing of the kind! I'll win this battle with talent, unlike you did before!"

The boy narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists.

"Flareon, use Bite!"

"Ruby, dodge and use Twister!"

As the Flareon ran towards Ruby, Ruby fired a powerful tornado from his mouth. The Flareon was caught and spun helplessly in the center.

"Flareon, use Smog!"

The Flareon emitted a black smoke, which clouded the battlefield and lowered visibility dramatically.

"Flareon, Zap Cannon!"

Tessa's stomach clenched. Ruby would take six times the damage if such an attack hit! There was a huge flash of yellow from inside the smog cloud. Suddenly, a golden ball of electricity flew out of the smoke and dissipated in the air. Tessa breathed a sigh of relief; the attack hadn't hit.

"Ruby, use Twister to clear the smog, then use Hyper Beam!"

The smog began to swirl and condense into a huge black tornado. Soon, the battlefield was visible, and so was the Flareon. Ruby gathered energy in his mouth and let a beam out that hit the Flareon directly. The Pokemon flew backwards and landed in a cloud of dust. When it cleared, the Flareon lay on the ground, fainted.

The boy gaped at his Flareon. Then glared in anger at Tessa.

"You may have been able to beat my Flareon, but you'll never beat my Tyranitar!"

He threw a Poke'ball into the field, and a huge Tyranitar stood menacingly on the battlefield.

"Hey, we agreed to only have a one on one battle!" yelled Tessa.

"Agreements change, girl." smirked the boy.

"Okay, then." said Tessa to herself as she called back Ruby, "Flame, Go!"

"Tyranitar, use Crunch!"

"Flame, fly to avoid it!"

Flame flew above the Tyranitar, where its Crunch attack would be useless. He waited for Tessa's next call.

"Flame, use Fire Blast!"

"Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"

The two attacks met halfway in the air. Tessa and the boy waited in grim silence to see which one would overpower the other. The attacks went back and forth for what seemed like forever, but the red fire from Flame's Fire Blast suddenly cut through the Hyper Beam, dissolving it like smoke, and engulfed the Tyranitar beyond. The blast resulting was incredible, and both trainers had to shield their faces from the flying debris. When the dust cleared, the Tyranitar was lying flat, knocked out in only one hit. Flame flew easily above it, unscathed by the blast.

"What!" shouted the boy as he called back his Tyranitar, "You couldn't have beaten him! He was my strongest Pokemon!"

"I just did." said Tessa calmly, "You should get your Pokemon healed before they sustain any permanent damage."

The boy stormed into the Pokemon Center as Tessa high-fived Willow. Tessa ran up to Flame and hugged his neck.

"Great job, Flame! You did it!"

Flame chuckled happily.

"No thanks needed, that boy needed to be taught a lesson. He was way too overconfident, and so were his Pokemon."

Willow walked up to Tessa and Flame joyfully.

"Great job, you guys!" she said, then her face fell, "I just got a phone call, I have to go to Azalea Town to meet my sister, but I'll see you again someday"

"Yeah, we'll be around..." said Tessa sadly, "Remember, raise that Ponyta up a few more levels, and maybe I'll give you a rematch someday!"

"I'll be sure to!" said Willow happily, "Bye!"

Tessa waved, watching her go. When Willow was out of sight, Tessa turned to Flame.

"She was a great friend, wasn't she?"

"Yeah..." replied Flame.

"So, now that that battle is over, what should we do now?"

"The Lake of Rage isn't far from here, why don't we go visit where Ruby used to live?"

"Sure! But first, you guys will have to take a rest at the Pokemon center."

"Will do! I'm tired from that battle, and I'm sure Ruby is too."


	3. 3: The Healing Truth

Chapter three

Blue stumbled through the thick underbrush, trying to find a place to stay for the night. It was a lot harder without his parents around, but he knew he would have to adjust.

A Noctowl hooted loudly behind him, startling him into rearing up. Suddenly, he heard a howl that sent shivers down his spine. He looked around wildly, and as his eyes adjusted to the twilight, saw a flash of darker color in the grass. Another flash approached him from a different side, and suddenly he knew that he was being hunted.

Another howl broke the silence, closer this time. He looked to his left just in time to get a good look at what was stalking him, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He had heard about Houndour killing lone Girafarig, but had never believed the stories until now.

He saw glittering eyes to his side, and forced his legs into action. The Girafarig leapt away just as the growling Houndour jumped for him. He shied as another pair of eyes appeared from the shadows. Suddenly, he felt a weight drop on his back, and a terrible pain shot through his haunches. Blue reared, and heard a yelp as his tail bit the Houndour, loosening its grip just enough to send it flying from his back.

The Houndour surrounded him now, red eyes flashing in the dim light. Blue bellowed and stomped his hooves, but they showed no sign of backing down. Suddenly, as if on some unseen signal, they converged on him. Another Houndour jumped on his back, and he screamed in pain as it sank its sharp teeth into his neck.

His legs buckled and he fell, struggling, to the ground. The rest of the Houndour jumped on him, snarling, and Blue closed his eyes, preparing for certain death.

'I'm sorry, mom' he thought. Suddenly a voice pierced the night.

"Ruby, get those Houndour off him!"

A blast of red light surrounded the Houndour, and the growling pack turned to face their new adversary.

Blue gasped as he saw the sparkling red Gyarados rearing magnificently above the pack, fighting to save him. Suddenly, he felt gentle hands stroking his flank. He feebly tried to struggle, but the unknown creatures hands were firm. Whatever it was leaned down to his ear and whispered to him.

"Don't worry, we're here to save you. Ruby will make short work of those Houndour, and Flame will carry you to a safe place. I'm Tessa, by the way."

"Blue..." replied Blue weakly.

"Don't try to speak, just rest now. I'll give you this to help with the pain." said Tessa, holding a Miracle Berry to Blue's nose.

Blue opened his mouth and took the berry, and suddenly felt the pain start to diminish. He tried to struggle up, but found that he was still too weak from the attack to stand.

Suddenly, claws lifted him up off the ground. Fear took hold of him, and he tried to bite the creature, but the reassuring hands stroked him once more, calming his fears. Blue felt the sensation of flying, but knew that a short flight was better than being eaten. He heard the Houndour pack yelping, and knew that the amazing red Gyarados had won.

"Ruby, return!" he heard as he drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Tessa looked worriedly at the Blue Girafarig. She knew that he was extremely lucky to be alive, if they hadn't come along and heard his screams... She shuddered at the thought. He still might not make it, but Flame was flying as fast as he could with two passengers, and the Pokemon Center was quite a distance away. If he did make it, though, she would ask him if he wanted to join their group.

Suddenly, she realized that he was a Shiny! She knew that she was very lucky to have seen even one in her lifetime, let alone capture it... but seeing two! She knew that it was still his choice if he wanted to join them, and she would go along with whatever he chose.

She took this chance to take a closer look at the Girafarig. She thought he had said that his name was Blue, but she would ask to make sure later. He was very young, not much older than two, she supposed. He had a powerful build, and she could tell that he would be a good fighter someday.

"The Pokemon Center's coming up!" shouted Flame above the roaring wind.

"Good, he needs to get there fast!"

"I can see the lights! Don't worry, I think we got those Houndour off him in time!"

"I hope so!"

Flame touched down at the entrance, and he and Tessa hurried inside. Nurse Joy was sitting at the counter, but she bolted up at the sight of them.

"What happened? We need to get him to the emergency, quick!" she turned around and opened the door to the back room, "Chansey, get a stretcher in here fast!"

Tessa tried to explain as she helped get the Girafarig on the stretcher.

"A pack of Houndour jumped him, we almost didn't get there in time. He's lucky to only have these injuries."

Nurse Joy listened to the story with a horrified look.

"If the Houndour are going so hungry that they have to attack a Girafarig, they're getting too numerous up in that route! You can wait in one of the spare rooms, and in the morning I'll tell you if he'll make it, okay?" the nurse said, handing a room key to Tessa.

Tessa nodded as Nurse Joy, the Chansey, and the stretcher with the Girafarig disappeared through the emergency room door. She turned too Flame, who was waiting expectantly.

"We get a room for the night. Nurse Joy will come in the morning and tell us how he's doing."

Flame nodded and they headed off to the back of the building. Tessa found their room, and she opened the door to find a huge, Charizard sized space waiting for them. Flame settled himself on a gigantic pillow in the corner, careful to keep his flaming tail well away from any cloth, and Tessa jumped in the bed.

"Good old Nurse Joy," she said "she must have been able to think about getting a big room for us, even when there was an emergency. We can thank her in the morning."

Flame nodded sleepily and dropped his head on his front legs. Soon he was snoring. Tessa smiled and settled down under the blankets, and despite how awake she was feeling, was asleep and snoring like Flame in a matter of minutes.

Blue awoke feeling groggy and disoriented. He was on some sort of padding, and his neck and haunches hurt every time he tried to move. The previous day's horrors hit him like a sledgehammer, and he groaned in anguish. Where was the mysterious creature that had saved him, and been so kind to him? He called out its name weakly.

"Hello, you're awake!" a high voice squeaked from behind him, "Do you need anything?"

"Who are you? Where's the thing that brought me here?"

"I'm Crissie the Chansey, and the girl who brought you here is sleeping in the guest quarters. She was really worried about you, but she finally gave in to exhaustion, the poor thing. She should be awake pretty soon though, and then she can come see you!"

"Where am I?"

"You're in the Mahogany Town Pokemon Center. That girl said Houndour attacked you up by the Lake of Rage! That's a long way, and her poor Charizard flew the whole distance with two passengers! You're really lucky! Not many humans care about Pokemon as much as that girl does..."

"What, a human! A human brought me here!" yelled Blue in terror.

"Settle down, settle down! What makes you so worried about humans?"

"Well, my parents told me that they capture you, and hurt you, and sell you for profit! They told me a number of things about humans, and I don't like any of them!"

"Well, I won't lie, some humans do those things." Crissie replied sadly, "But those humans, those are the bad cases, and they're usually arrested and not allowed to have any Pokemon if they get caught. This human though... this Tessa, she genuinely loves her Pokemon and would do anything for their well-being. You should have seen her Shiny Gyarados when she first caught him! He was so afraid because he'd gotten caught... but he loves that girl now, and he would die for her if she were in trouble."

"Wow..." mused Blue in wonder.

"Oh, and her Charizard, Flame. He was her first Pokemon, the one that carried you in. From what he tells me, they weren't even a day out on their first adventure and he was already a Charizard from a Charmander. They're very good people, and any Pokemon would be lucky to be caught by them."

"That sounds very different from what my parents told me."

"Well, I know these things. I was one of Tessa's Pokemon a long time ago, but she let me go to nursing school, and now I work here!"

"You mean... she'll let one of her Pokemon go if they wanted too, no forcing them to stay?"

"Yeah, if any one of her pokemon wanted to leave, they could. But they all love her so much, they haven't wanted to. It would be nice to go back to battling, but my true calling is being a nurse. Tessa knew that too, so she let me go."

"You're turning my entire perspective of humans upside down, do you know that?"

"Yup."

A faint sound of a ringing bell echoed through the corridors.

"Oh, I have to go!" squeaked Crissie, "I'll be back soon with your breakfast."

Blue watched her hop away, and lay his head down to muse about what she had just told him. He tried to remember all the evil things his parents had told him about humans, but his mind kept wandering back to the gentle stroke of Tessa's calming hand against his flank during the Houndour attack, and he sighed.

* * *

Tessa awoke refreshed and ready for anything. She looked over, and saw that Flame was already awake, and his face was only a foot away from her eyes.

"Yah!" she squeaked, jumping, "what are you doing, Flame, trying to scare me to death!?"

"I was trying to make you wake up without shaking you! Nurse Joy came in and told me that the Girafarig is doing great, and we can come see him if we like."

"Great!" said Tessa, sitting bolt upright.

Tessa jumped out of bed, grabbed her spare clothes, and hurriedly changed in the bathroom. She came back into the room and made up the bed, and she and Flame walked out into the hall.

The center was much busier by day, and there were many more people around. She saw the boy she had battled a few days ago sitting in the corner again, and what she overheard him saying horrified her.

"Hey, guys. I heard they have an un-owned Shiny in this place!" he whispered, "I don't know about you people, but as soon as that Shiny is released, I'm going to go capture it. And after I capture it, I'm going to raise it to a really high level and beat that cheating girl! If it doesn't do what I say, I'll beat it, and if that doesn't work... I'll sell it for a huge amount of money!"

Tessa looked in disgust at the boy, and she knew what she had to do. As she passed by his table, she kicked the leg out from under his chair. The boy yelped as he toppled, and when he looked up in anger to yell at whoever did it, he was surprised to find that no one was in sight.

Tessa and Flame giggled as they walked down the corridor, but Tessa knew that the danger to the Girafarig was not over. She would have to talk with him and convince him to either join them, or let them take him to a safe place.

They walked into the recovery room. Tessa looked all around, and soon saw him. He was lying down, and had stitches in jagged lines where the worst of the gashes had been. She walked over and gently ran her hand down his flank.

He stirred at the touch, and lifted his head to look at her.

"Tessa, is that who you are?" he asked faintly.

"Yeah, I'm really glad you're okay. We almost thought you wouldn't make it," she said softly.

"I'm okay. Did you ever own a Chansey named Crissie?"

"Yeah, she works here. Why?"

"I met her this morning, and she told me what a great human you were. I've thought about it, and I want you to capture me."

"What?" asked Tessa in surprise.

"I want you to capture me when I get out of here. You seem like you would be a great trainer, and you already have two Pokemon that you've trained well." he looked up at her pleadingly, "So will you? Please."

"I will." said Tessa, lovingly stroking his neck, "I want to make sure what your name is, though."

"My name is Blue."

"I thought so."

"Hey, Tessa?" said Flame.

"Yes, Flame?"

"We should warn him about that boy in the lobby, he might try something, and I want us to be prepared."

"Oh! Yeah, Blue, there's a rather misled boy in the lobby. He wants to capture and sell you for profit. We think he might try something while you're still here." said Tessa worriedly.

"What! This is exactly like what my parents told me would happen!"

"Don't worry, Flame and I will stay here every night until you're well again, then we can leave that awful boy behind us forever."

"Good, I'm counting on you guys. Hey, where's that red Gyarados you had? Is he a Shiny like me?"

"Yes, he's a Shiny. His name's Ruby."

"Can I see him?"

"He can't fit in this room, but you'll see him later, I promise."

"Good, I think I'll go to sleep now. Will you guys stay with me?"

"Yeah, we'll be here."

As Blue began to snore, Nurse Joy came in. She saw Tessa stroking Blue's flank and smiled.

"I see you've become friends. Do you want to stay here longer?"

"Yeah, I heard a rumor that a boy here might try to capture Blue before he's healed. I'm going to stay here with him until he's mended, and then he's agreed to come with me. I don't want anyone cruel to capture him."

"You're right!" said Nurse Joy, a horrified look on her face, "I'll put up extra security. Only the trainers who have pokemon in this room will be allowed in, and cameras will be on watch all the time. If you still want to stay in here though, you can."

"Yeah, we will." replied Tessa, "I promised him we wouldn't leave."

"Okay then, I'll bring some books in for you to pass the time."

"That would help, thank you."


	4. 4: Adventure

Chapter Four

The Nidoqueen in the cave roared a challenge to a rather chastened and confused looking Nidoking. The Nidoking growled meekly, and turned to walk out of the cave. The Nidoqueen darted forward and bit his tail as he left, making him jump in surprise and pain, but he didn't retaliate.

"Don't come back until they have fur, you imbecile!" the Nidoqueen bellowed.

She turned and walked back into the cave, navigating through the twisting tunnels easily. Soon, muffled squeaking could be heard. The Nidoqueen rounded a last corner and came into a giant nesting chamber.

In a pile of downy material, scavenged from various places, a dozen tiny Nidoran shuffled about. They had no fur as yet, but in a few days they would have luxurious coats to keep them warm. Only then would the Nidoqueen allow the father into the chamber to see his offspring. She snuggled close to them; giving them her body heat to keep their tiny lives alive.

The Nidoqueen nuzzled her babies, feeling the tiny hairs that were already starting to develop. Soon, she would be able to name them all, following a tradition that went back eons.

One tiny female was much more adventurous than the rest, she would climb all over the cave, exploring every thing that could be explored. The Nidoqueen would have to follow her movements closely, or it was likely that she would get stuck in a hole or some other obstruction.

As the female climbed a high rock, a small, glowing speck drifted down from her back and landed on the ground before the Nidoqueen. The Pokemon looked at it in curiosity before it faded. She heard a frightened squeak, and sighed; it was time to come to the rescue again...

* * *

_Three months later..._

"Go, Blue!"

The blue Girafarig made a grand entrance onto the arena, like all Shiny's do, and lowered his horns in a sweeping movement, much like a bow, to his opponent. The Raticate took no notice, and bared its teeth threateningly.

"Raticate, use Hyper Fang!"

"Blue, Psybeam!"

As the Raticate dodged about the battlefield, trying to find an opening, Blue watched carefully with lowered horns. Suddenly, the Raticate became impatient and shot forward, making a beeline for Blue. This was what the Girafarig had been waiting for, and he let loose a wavering beam that hit the Raticate square on.

The Raticate screamed in pain as the powerful psychic attack took its toll. It abruptly fell to the ground, defeated.

"Raticate, return!" called the woman Tessa was battling, "Go, Alakazam!"

The Alakazam stood patiently on the other side of the arena, waiting for Blue to make the first move.

"Blue, use Stomp!"

"Alakazam, Psychic!"

The Alakazam glowed and suddenly, the glow engulfed Blue as well. Blue was thrown back to the other side of the battlefield, but was mostly unharmed.

The woman opposite them smirked.

"Have you had enough? You know I'll beat you every time with my Alakazam."

"Not likely!" called Tessa, taking advantage of the woman's overconfidence, "Blue, use Crunch!"

The woman gasped as Blue shot in and finished her Alakazam with a single attack. The crowd watching cheered. The woman called back her Pokemon and sighed in defeat. Tessa congratulated Blue as the woman left the arena.

"Such a good job, Blue, you were magnificent!"

"Thanks, Tessa! I never would have thought I would be here a few months ago, that's for sure!"

"Yeah, we've beaten the Elite Four three times already! I never thought I'd come this far, either!"

A man in a suit walked up to them, carrying a large briefcase with him.

"Here's your prize money for beating the current trainer house Champion! Are you sure you don't want to stay and be the new Champion?"

"Yes, I'd rather go adventuring than stay inside, no offense."

"I know what you mean." the man said, "Thank you and goodbye."

Tessa took the prize money and walked to the PC. She deposited most of it, but kept some out for emergencies. She turned to Blue.

"Since you won the last battle, you get to decide where we go next."

"Let's go to Mount Silver!" said Blue enthusiastically.

"Great choice, Blue!" Tessa exclaimed, calling out Flame, "Let's go!"

* * *

Lavender the Nidoran sniffed around an interesting shoot of grass. Her mother, a Nidoqueen, watched her carefully out of the corner of her eye, knowing how much trouble the little Nidoran could get herself into when unsupervised. Lavender, after thoroughly inspecting the grass, opened her mouth and snipped it off, chewing thoughtfully.

The small Nidoran hopped to a rock, generating sparkles with each jump. She began thoroughly grooming her rich, purple fur, and soon, she shone with pride at her clean pelt. Her mother had told her that her fur was special, and she believed it; she was the only female in her family with a purple color.

She calmly watched a Butterfree flit from flower to flower, drinking the sweet nectar that the blooms secreted. Suddenly, her mother thumped her tail against the ground, signaling danger! Lavender jumped up in surprise, and ran towards the safety of the cave, but a shadow fell before her, making her skid to a halt.

Lavender looked up in terror, and saw a huge Fearow spreading its vast wings out before her like a massive cloak. The feathers blocked the sun for a moment, and then Lavender felt its sharp claws sink into her back, pinning her poisonous spines down. She shrieked in terror, struggling desperately as the Pokemon rose in the air. The Fearow only curled his claws tighter, making the pain even more intense. Lavender twisted around and bit the Fearow's foot as hard as she could. The bird screeched in pain, and released its hold on the Nidoran.

Lavender fell a great distance, finally landing with a _plop_ in a puddle of water left by recent rain. Taking a moment to regain her wits, she darted for the cover of a large rock nearby.

The Fearow above shrieked in anger, circling moodily before finally flying off to find easier prey. Lavender breathed a sigh of relief, and twisted around to clean her injuries. She gently licked the already matting blood off her back, letting the wound bleed freely, as her mother taught her to do long ago.

She tried to think where she was, but she had never been far from home before, and her sense of direction was completely disorganized. She realized with sadness that she was now alone.

Lavender woke after a long, confused dream. 'Where am I?' she thought, and suddenly, the events of the previous day returned to her. She knew that she was now a lone, wild Nidoran, and would have to live like one.

"I think I'll start by finding food." she said to herself.

She hopped cautiously to the edge of the shelter, sniffing carefully and scanning the sky for any predators. It was dusk, so she would have only a little time to feed before she had to return to the safety of the rock.

Convinced that all was quiet, she stepped out into the dim light. Not far from her, a large patch of tall grass grew in profusion. She made a beeline for this, mind focused on how good it would taste, and not on the danger it may present.

As she approached the clumps, a pale purple Ekans emerged from the dense cover, hissing. She jumped back, startled, and it was this sudden movement that saved her from the deadly jaws as the Ekans lunged for her. Lavender quickly used a Sand-Attack to disorient the snake, and dashed for her rock.

The Ekans followed, shaking the sand from its eyes, and tried to squeeze under the rock to get to its prey. Its head was too big to get through, and as it tried to dig under the rock, Lavender bit its nose. It hissed and reared up in pain, finally slithering away to find something easier to eat, like a Pidgey or Spearow.

Lavender breathed a sigh of relief; that was way too close! She would have to search for a safer place to live, and soon. She checked more carefully for danger this time, using her keen sense of smell and vision to be certain that all predators had gone. After what seemed like a long time, she was finally convinced that all was well. The Nidoran slowly hopped out from cover, ate a few blades of grass, and began her journey.

* * *

_One month later..._

Tessa looked up at the sky from her position on a log. The campfire blazed merrily, and her pokemon were snoring gently around her. She sighed, she was one of the most powerful pokemon trainers in the world, but she was not as happy as she thought she should be. There was just no challenge anymore; she beat any trainer she came across that wanted to battle.

'I need another Pokemon...' she thought, 'that would be a new challenge!'

Blue opened his eyes, watching his trainer as she thought to herself quietly. Tessa saw him, but continued to sit silently on the log.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a whisper.

"We need a new challenge, Blue." she replied, "Things are becoming too easy for us, and it's getting very boring."

"I know what you mean, and so do they," said Blue, gesturing towards the sleeping forms of Ruby and Flame, "But what could we do?"

"I was thinking... Why don't we train another Pokemon? It would be a great challenge, and it would help get our lives back on track again!"

"That's a pretty good idea!" exclaimed Blue, "We'd have to find the perfect one to train, though."

"Yeah, tomorrow we can start searching!"

Blue and Tessa smiled at each other, and behind them, hidden by the fires shadows and feigning sleep, Ruby and Flame smiled too.

* * *

_In Kanto..._

Orange the Persian groomed her beautiful fur thoughtfully, cleaning the dried blood and bits of black feathers left over from the nights hunting. As she had done countless times over the past months, she wondered why her fur had to be so different from the others. Why couldn't she have been born with the normal, dull yellow fur and the dark ears? Why was her fur whitish orange and her ears a light pink? And last of all, why did those annoying sparkles follow her wherever she went? They made it difficult to hunt anything but Murkrow, and that was the reason that her entire family had chased her off!

She sighed and continued grooming. Whatever the reason for it, she was unusually proud of her fur. It was no question that she was the most unique Persian around, and any male should find her beautiful to behold. But, strangely, none did. They all ran away when she tried to talk to them; maybe it was because living alone had made her grow twice the size of a normal Persian?

A howl sent shivers down her spine; the Houndour had found prey. She listened as they converged on their victim. There was one agonized squeal, then all was quiet again; their prey had had no chance.

Orange purred contentedly and stretched out in her den, claws extending and retracting with pleasure. A gentle pattering of rain on dry turf started, and she sat by the entrance and watched as the drizzle fell, fascinated by the movement of the water. Something else moved behind the sheets of rain, and she focused her eyes to see it better.

A bedraggled and bleeding Abra shuffled through the mud. His left back leg was gashed almost to the bone, and he was heading towards Orange's cave. Orange watched in amazement as the small creature reached out to her, but fell, exhausted, to the ground before it could get to her.

Orange sat, staring at the Abra for a long time, making up her mind on what to do. This must have been the prey that the Houndour were stalking, and they must have grabbed it before it teleported. She made up her mind and, taking the small creature by the scruff of the neck, and brought him into the den.

The Abra hung limply in her jaws, and she began to fear that he was already dead, but a twitch of his tail calmed her fears, and she went about tending to his wound. The gash was deep, and would need better treatment than most Pokemon were able to administer. Luckily, Orange knew of a Chansey not far from where she lived.

She put a few berries beside the Abra's head, in case he woke, and set out into the downpour to find the Chansey. The wind was furious, and the rain stung every time it hit her coat. She walked on, and soon found the small, hollow tree where the Chansey took cover in storms. Lightning flashed as she entered the knothole, and she was suddenly in a dry, warm room.

"Hello," said a squeaky voice in the shadows "What brings you here?"

"I found an injured Abra, and his wounds need treatment." replied Orange.

"Oh, my!" said the voice, turning into a Chansey as the Pokemon revealed itself from the shadows, "I need to get there right away!"

Orange led the Chansey through the storm and into her den. The Chansey immediately got to work as soon as she saw the Abra, and soon his leg was stitched up and bandaged. The Chansey turned to Orange.

"Now, I don't know why you saved this Abra tonight, but since you did, you are going to have to look out for his well being until he's healed. I've bandaged his leg, and I'll come back every few days to make sure he's okay, and re-bandage it. The rest is up to you, so don't eat him." she said as she hurried back out into the storm.

Orange looked at the Abra in the corner; why did she save him? Persians were natural predators, and under any other circumstances, she _would_ have eaten him. He didn't look much different from any other Abra she'd seen, except for the darker brownish purple markings and the faint sparkles...wait. He _was_ a different color than most Abra's, and he had sparkles just like her! That must have been why she subconsciously saved him for no reason; he was like her, and she would finally have someone to talk to.


	5. 5: Predator

Chapter Five

_Back in Jhoto..._

Lavender nestled into her burrow, snug and warm as a hibernating Caterpie. She had found the perfect place to live; it had wide, open grasslands, few humans (except on certain days), and not many predators.

She was starting to doze off when sudden vibrations startled her awake. She rushed to the entrance, poison spines raised, only to find a Girafarig, a Charizard, and a Gyarados playing catch with their trainer. The Girafarig reared to catch a high-flying apple and barely missed stepping on her. She darted out of her burrow and bit his foot in agitation.

The Girafarig yelped, missing the apple and sending a shower of sparkles into the air. Lavender looked closely and found with surprise that this Girafarig was a different color than normal Girafarig, and set off sparkles; just like her.

The trainer ran up to the Girafarig, checking its foot. Finding the bite mark, she looked over and saw Lavender's head poking out of her burrow. To Lavender's surprise, the trainer spoke!

"Oh! I'm sorry; Blue must have almost stepped on you! You still didn't have to bite him though..." she said looking at Blue's leg, Lavender looked up at her with guilt, "Well, what's done is done, do you want to play catch with us? When we're finished, we can have lunch."

"Sure!" said Lavender, always ready for adventure, "My name's Lavender, what's yours?"

"I'm Tessa," said the trainer, "and these are my friends and Pokemon, Blue, Flame, and Ruby."

"Nice to meet you, now let's play catch!"

Tessa laughed and threw a new apple to Lavender, the Nidoran deftly caught it in midair and threw it to Blue. The Girafarig batted it to Ruby, who tossed it to Tessa. Tessa hurled it to Flame, and Flame used Ember to roast it. Tessa caught it and switched it from hand to hand to cool it, then placed it in a basket. She took a new apple and repeated the process, and soon there were ten apples in the basket.

"Time for lunch!" called Tessa.

The Pokemon ran up to get their roasted apples, and settled down to eat them.

"That was fun!" squeaked Lavender between mouthfuls of apple, "Do you do things like this all the time?"

"We try to find fun and challenging things to do every day." replied Flame, "It's always an adventure!"

"Cool, I love adventure!" exclaimed Lavender, smiling.

"Hey, I have an idea!" said Blue, he turned to Lavender, "Why don't you come with us? You can meet interesting new Pokemon, get stronger, and have as much adventure as you want!"

Lavender thought about this; her mother had told her about trainers, and what they did. This one, though, seemed different than the stories. Tessa didn't try to capture her as soon as she saw her, and she could talk to her! Lavender came to a decision, if she was going to travel with a trainer, this seemed like the best one for the job!

"I'll do it!" she squeaked suddenly, "I'll go with you!"

"Great!" said Tessa, she took a Poke'ball from her backpack and gently touched it to Lavender's skin.

A red light engulfed Lavender, and suddenly she felt like she was in a different body; she couldn't move, and she couldn't see either! She panicked and almost fought against it, but realized that Tessa probably wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She relaxed, and soon, she could move her body and see her new friends again.

"What happened?" she asked, slightly disturbed by the experience.

"Oh, that was a Poke'ball," replied Tessa "it's an easier mode for transporting Pokemon, and it signifies that you've been caught."

"Weird..." said Lavender, shuddering, "I don't like it!"

"Well..." thought Tessa, "You are very small, so you could ride on my shoulder if you wanted, but bigger Pokemon, like Flame and Ruby, can't do that."

"Why?" asked Lavender.

"They're too big for most human buildings, but I try to keep them out when we're traveling, for everybody's comfort."

"Oh, what do we do now?" asked Lavender.

"Well, since you're new, we train!"

"What's 'train'?" asked Lavender.

"It's perfecting your abilities to use in friendly battle against other pokemon. By perfecting your abilities and defeating your opponents, you get stronger and raise levels." answered Flame, sweeping his tail in a glorious arc.

"Ooh! That sounds fun!"

"Well, lets start your first lesson. See that cracked rock over there?" asked Tessa.

Lavender nodded.

"I want you to try and break it apart using Double Kick. Remember to focus your kicks on the place where the crack originates."

Lavender nodded again and sped towards the rock. When she reached it, she jumped up and kicked it as hard as she could three times, then fell to the ground. Her feet hurt, but she'd managed to make the crack squiggle down the rock for a few more inches.

"Great job, Lavender!" exclaimed Tessa, running over to look at the rock, "You managed to make the rock split three more inches, keep up the good work!"

"My feet hurt..." said Lavender.

"Oh, no! They do?" said Tessa as she picked up Lavender, careful to avoid her spines, "I'll put some salve on them and start you out on softer material next time. I guess I'm not used to having a newbie on the team again."

"It's okay, Tessa." said Lavender as the salve was put on her bruised feet, "I was too overconfident, so I thought I could impress everybody by splitting a rock in half on my first try."

"Don't worry, someday you'll be able to, all we need is practice." replied Tessa as she sat Lavender on her shoulder, "Now, let's go to the Pokemon Center and rest up, soon we'll continue training."

* * *

_In Kanto..._

Brown woke slowly, squeezing his eyes tight against the sudden pain in his leg. He waited until the pain receded to open his eyes, and saw with surprise that he was in a dimly lit cave. He moved his head gradually from side to side, inspecting his surroundings.

A lump in the corner, one that he had thought was a rock, moved slightly. He looked closer, and found that it was a Persian! The cat moved again, and slowly got to its feet. It stretched, yawning and showing its large fangs, and glanced at the corner where Brown lay.

The Persian stiffened, realizing that Brown was awake. As it approached him, Brown trembled, preparing to teleport at any second. The Persian stopped, puzzled, and sat where it was.

"There's no reason to be afraid, I won't hurt you." she said in a silky, purring voice.

"You're just trying to trick me, so you can eat me." replied Brown agonizingly as the pain in his leg flared.

The Persian looked at a loss, and Brown could've sworn that she looked genuinely hurt for a second before regaining her composure.

"I don't want to eat you, or I would've already while you were asleep."

"You probably just wanted me awake so you could see me suffer, like those Houndour!" spat Brown, anger flaring.

The Persian hissed and Brown flinched back, the pain in his leg shooting and making him wince. Seeing this, the Persian immediately quieted, looking worried.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, let me look at that; I hope it hasn't started bleeding again." she said, starting forward.

Brown glared but did not object. He suddenly realized that his leg was covered in bandages, and he looked on in curiosity as the Persian carefully peeled them back. He stared in amazement at the crude stitches on the painful gash, and looked at the Persian in a new light.

"You did this?" he asked softly.

"No," replied the Persian "I know a Chansey, and she did it because I don't have the skill to stitch. Let me get rid of this dried blood for you..."

Brown cringed as the Persians raspy tongue scraped against his wounds, cleaning them. When the gash was free of blood, she wrapped the leg back up in the bandages carefully. Brown nodded in thanks.

"What's your name?" he asked wonderingly.

"My name is Orange." she replied simply.

"I'm Brown... How did you save me?"

"You crawled past my cave, and I guessed what had happened. I took you in and got the Chansey to help you."

"I can't remember much, but wasn't it storming outside?"

"Yes."

"Don't Persians hate rain?"

"Yes."

"Why did you save me? You could've eaten me while I was weak and saved yourself the trouble."

"I don't really know, but I think that I realized sometime last night that you were like me."

"How?"

"For one, you were alone and injured, like I was when I was just a kitten. For another..." she leapt into a ray of sunlight, where Brown instantly saw that her pelt was a much different shade than normal. Sparkles flew from her body, illuminated into intense brightness by the sun.

"You're a Shiny, just like me..." he breathed.

Orange looked puzzled.

"What's that?" she asked.

"You have a different color, a rare strength, a-"

"Hello," said a squeaky voice from the mouth of the cave as the Chansey entered "Sorry to interrupt, how's your leg doing?"

"Fine, Orange just cleaned all the dried blood off for me."

"Good, good. The stitches are still in place?"

"As far as I could tell," replied Orange.

"Excellent, I think that in a few days we'll be able to have you try and walk!" said the Chansey as she checked Brown's leg.

"Well, I have to get going, bye!" she said, and was out of the cave in an instant.

"That was weird..." mused Brown.

"She's like that; she has a lot of patients to take care of." said Orange, "So, what were you saying about Shinys?"

* * *

_Back in Jhoto..._

"Lavender, use Poison Sting!" shouted Tessa.

Lavender shot glowing quills from her spines, which covered her opponent, a Totodile. The water Pokemon was mostly unharmed, but started to look sick as poison coursed through its body. It shook its head to clear it, and took up a defiant stance.

"Totodile, use Bite!"

"Lavender, dodge it!'

The Totodile sped forward with its mouth wide, revealing amazingly sharp teeth. Lavender waited until it got close, then jumped into the air, landing on its head. The Totodile hopped around crazily, trying desperately to dislodge the Nidoran.

"Lavender, use Thunderbolt!"

The man they were battling gasped as Lavender began to spark. A crack sounded, and a white-hot bolt of electricity emanated from the tiny Nidoran. The Totodile cried out in pain as the electricity hit it, and collapsed, eyes spinning.

"Yeah! Way to go, Lavender!"

Lavender bounded up to Tessa and leapt onto her shoulder, looking extremely pleased with herself. The man called back his Totodile and walked over to shake hands with Tessa.

"Great job! My name is Davin." said the man.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Tessa," said Tessa.

"How did your Nidoran learn all those neat moves? I've never seen a Nido use an electric attack before."

"Oh, we saved up some coins and had the Move Tutor teach her Thunderbolt. It can be really useful at times."

"I'm sure it can, do you know where the next Pokemon Center is?"

"Its just over the hill, you can't miss it," said Tessa, pointing behind her.

"Thanks!"

Tessa waved as Davin left. Lavender nuzzled her ear.

"So, Lavender," said Tessa, picking up the Nidoran from her shoulder "Where do we go now?"

"I've never seen Kanto, but Blue told me about it. Can we go there?"

"Yeah, we have to hurry to catch the Magnet Train, though."

"Come on then, let's get a move on!" chattered Lavender as Tessa laughed.


	6. 6: Silver Twilight

Chapter Six

Tessa walked off the train platform at Saffron City. It was a beautiful evening in Kanto, just cloudy enough so that it wasn't too hot, so Tessa decided to ride her bike. She pulled the folded up contraption out of her bag and began to unfurl it. When the Bike was ready, Tessa placed Lavender in a basket on the front and set off.

"Any idea where we want to go first?" asked Tessa.

"Let's go to Celadon and take the Bike Path to Fuchsia!" exclaimed Lavender, happily letting her whiskers get blown back and forth by the cool, twilight breeze.

"You don't mind traveling at night, do you?" asked Tessa, glancing at the setting sun.

"No, it'll be cooler!"

"Okay."

Tessa angled the bike down the path that would bring them to Celadon, plunging into the darkness of the forest.

* * *

Orange was out hunting. She had seen a few undersized Murkrow, but they were far too small to make a good meal. Suddenly, she heard the chink of a bicycle, and looked to see what human would be out at this hour.

A human female and a Nidoran in a basket were biking down the path to Celadon. Orange's attention flicked to the Nidoran, and her eyes lit up. _That_ would make a fine meal! She changed her course to follow the two travelers.

Finally, after about half an hour of solid biking, the human slowed. She spoke in low tones to the Nidoran, and stopped. She folded up the bike and made a slight fire in a small clearing.

Orange looked nervously at the fire, but her mind was made up. She was going to eat that Nidoran. She stalked close to the clearing, gauging the distance carefully. The human was tending the fire, so she crept up closer. The Nidoran remained oblivious to any danger.

She sprang. The Nidoran cried out as she saw the Persian, but it was much too late to escape her claws. Orange pinned the small Pokemon to the ground, making sure its poisonous spines could not be used. The human looked up in horror as it heard the tussle, but her expression immediately turned to anger.

"Lavender, use Thunderbolt!" the human cried.

Orange instantly felt the electricity surge through her body. She yowled in pain as she was blown off the other pokemon and into the dirt. The human held up her hand to stop the bristling Nidoran from charging, and threw a Poke'ball. Orange watched it fly in dread, but was too weak to evade the sphere. She felt the odd felling of bodiless-ness, and knew that she had been caught.

Soon, she could see and feel again. She looked around, and saw that, instead of just a human and one Pokemon, there were now four Pokemon. They all looked like they were on very high levels, and she dared not attack.

"Why did you attack us?!" demanded the human.

The Persian snorted; the human wouldn't be able to understand her reasons.

"Why?"

"I was hungry." she spat with distaste.

"There has to be more reason than that." said the Girafarig next to the human.

Orange glared at the Girafarig.

"To attack a human's Pokemon? There _has_ to be more reasons than that!" growled the Charizard.

Orange snarled and paced back and forth, switching her tail; this was a sure sign that she was nervous. The Persian sat grudgingly.

"I have someone that I need to take care of, and the prey has been unusually sparse."

"You have a kitten?" asked the human worriedly.

Orange started; this was the first indication that the girl could actually understand her.

"No," she said beginning to become worried that she had been gone too long "I saved an injured Pokemon, and I need to feed both him _and_ me."

Orange began pacing again, but this time her tail was not moving; she was very worried.

"You _do_ look very thin; you haven't been getting enough to eat. I'm guessing your friend hasn't either." said the human, "You'll have to take us to him, I have a lot of food, so I can feed you both."

Orange considered; she _could_ refuse to lead the human to her den, but that would mean leaving Brown to his fate. Alone, Brown didn't have a chance. She nodded finally and set off at a brisk trot. The human called back most of her Pokemon, except for the Girafarig and Nidoran, and followed.

* * *

When they reached the den, Orange told the human to stay at the entrance; she herself went inside.

"Who's there?" asked Brown from the shadows.

"It's just me, but I've brought someone who says she'll feed us."

"Really, some decent food would be nice. Is it a Miltank?"

"No, don't be scared when I call her in, okay?"

"Okay..." said Brown suspiciously.

Orange went outside and told the human that she could come in. Brown balked when he saw the human, but a glance from Orange calmed him.

"Hello," said the human "I'm afraid I don't have any of your names."

"I'm Orange, and this is Brown." answered the Persian.

"I'm Tessa." said the human.

She glanced at the bandages on Browns leg, and pulled off her bag. She dug into it for a second, and finally pulled out a generous supply of food. She gave the food to Orange and Brown, and sat back against a rock.

When Brown had finished, he looked questionly at the human, then at Orange.

"Orange, how did you come to know a human?" he asked, already guessing the answer.

Orange looked fidgety for a moment, but decided to tell the truth.

"She caught me... when I tried to eat her Nidoran." she replied.

Brown blinked his huge eyes slowly, and sighed. He opened them and looked at Orange yieldingly.

"Wherever you go, I go." he said finally.

Orange felt her spirits rise, but looked worriedly at her friend.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I have no chance out here alone, even with the Chansey's help; you should know that. You've been the best friend I've ever had, and I don't want to leave you alone either." said Brown, making it clear that his decision was final.

"Very well," said Tessa, who had been politely quiet during the entire conversation "You will have to have a Poke'ball. Soon, you can both be treated at a Pokemon Center so we can make sure you won't get sick. Then, when your leg heals, we can begin training."

Tessa took an oddly colored Poke'ball out of her bag. She walked over to Brown and touched it to his head. The Abra was engulfed in red light, and then was sucked into the sphere. It shook a few times, and then lay still. Tessa picked up the Poke'ball and pressed the button on the front. Red light flashed, and Brown appeared in his previous spot.

"What was that?" he asked.

"It was a Poke'ball. It captures you and makes it easier to travel."

"Yeah, but that one was different than the one you captured me with, why?" asked Orange.

"Yours was an Ultra Ball, I used a Level Ball for Brown."

"There are different kinds?"

"Yeah, but many are expensive, so only very well known trainers can afford the different ones."

"Where are we going now?"

"To Celadon, I'll call you both back into the Poke'ball, and when we get there, I'll let Orange out; Brown needs to go to the Pokemon Center."

"Okay."

"Orange, Brown, return." said Tessa.

Orange felt the feeling of Bodiless-ness, and waited. She wondered what it would be like to have a trainer. It wasn't too bad now, but at least she had Brown with her.

* * *

_Whirl Islands..._

Silver drifted along with the current, occasionally grabbing small fish and eating them. He was immeasurably bored; there was never anything interesting happening anymore since he left his homeground. This was surprising since he'd left to find adventure and some better friends. The Pokemon back home were afraid of him, all because he was silver with green gems on his head; they thought he was a death omen.

Silver knew he wasn't a bringer of death; he just had weird skin. There was nothing deathly about that! He wondered where his strange friend went; he knew she should be traveling around this area soon.

His best friend was a Lanturn. Since Lanturn usually preyed on Tentacool, being friends with one was very odd for both species. Current had known there was something special about him, so she had let him be. Soon, she had talked to him, and they had been best friends ever since. She didn't care that he was an odd color, just like he didn't care that she was a predator.

BUZZ...BUZZURP! Silver twisted around in the water as he heard the chiming call of a Lanturn. He struggled to see in the milky depths, and glimpsed the bright point of light that signaled where the Pokemon was. He still had to be careful, because any other Lanturn but his friend would eat him in a second, especially since he was so small. As it approached, he breathed a sigh of relief; it was Current.

She was swimming fast. Silver called out to her; asking what was wrong, yet he only got another panicked call in reply. This behavior wasn't like Current; there must be something terribly wrong.

Soon, Silver saw what was panicking his friend. A very large and angry looking shark Pokemon was chasing her. Silver racked his brain, trying to remember his lessons about foreign Pokemon, and finally recalled what it was. A Sharpedo!

When Current got closer, Silver saw in horror the deep gashes running along her body, marring the sleek blue skin. His horror turned to fury, and he sent a perfect Supersonic at the enraged and frenzied Sharpedo. It stopped chasing the Lanturn, looking confused. Silver took his chance, and Constricted his opponent, paralyzing it at the same time with the Acid in his tentacles. The Sharpedo writhed in pain, convulsing as it tried to get its teeth around the Tentacool. Silver used Poison Sting, pumping its body full of fast acting poison. The Pokemon's desperate struggles slowly ceased, and it fell limp in his tentacles.

Current swam tiredly over as Silver tore the Sharpedo into smaller, more edible pieces using his dexterous and strong tentacles. He quietly ate his fill, and then gave the rest to the Lanturn. She thanked him and ripped into the meat, swallowing the small but deadly fish whole.

"What was that thing doing chasing you?" Silver asked.

"I don't know," said Current "I was out looking for a good meal, and while I was about to swallow a nice, big fish, this thing rushed in and slashed me. I tried to shock it, but it didn't seem to care how much I hurt it. I finally just ran, and it gave chase."

Silver looked at the numerous wounds on his friend hide, and hissed in anger. The Lanturn futilely tried to clean the worst of them, but couldn't reach the gashes. Silver moved beside her and secreted a numbing fluid to put on the wounds. Current sighed as he finished cleaning and numbing the injuries.

"Thank you, Silver. You saved my life, and I won't forget it. I'll sing of your deed, and no Lanturn will ever harm you."

"Thank you, Current." said Silver softly.

"None needed. Do you realize that you just killed the most feared predator in the ocean?" asked Current in awe.

Silver jumped, he hadn't realized! He was a half grown Tentacool, and he had killed a full grown, male Sharpedo! Current giggled at his reaction, and flicked him with her tail.

"Come on! You should see the look on you face! I have to go now, so I'll see you again someday, alright?"

"Yeah, goodbye." he said as he rubbed his tentacle, which was still stinging from Current's sharp flick.

"Bye!" said Current, smiling as she sped away.

Silver watched as the light she generated faded into the milky blueness of the ocean, and continued drifting. Soon, he heard the ghostly music of her song. Maybe his life wasn't so boring after all?


	7. 7: Another Rescue

Chapter Seven

_Jhoto..._

"Go, Brown!"

The newly evolved Kadabra bust out of his Poke'ball in a shower of glitter. The Rhyhorn before him bellowed nervously as it saw the other Shiny and scraped its feet on the ground. Tessa smiled, she had been ecstatic when she had seen that her opponent also had a Shiny, which was the auburn Rhyhorn before them,

"Rhyhorn, use Fury Attack!" shouted the girl opposite them,

"Brown, Teleport around the arena and use Confusion!"

The Rhyhorn charged blindly at Brown, and the Kadabra merely Teleported out of its way. When the Rhyhorn slowed and looked around, puzzled at where its opponent had gone, Brown sent a powerful Confusion at it, knocking the heavy Pokemon clear off its feet. The Rhyhorn landed heavily in the dust but, although bruised, dragged itself to its feet.

"Brown, use Psybeam!"

The Rhydon had no time to react as it was thrown into the dust once more. It didn't get up this time. The Pokemon's trainer ran over and told it that it had done a good job before calling it back. She pulled out another Poke'ball from her belt and tossed it into the arena. Showers of shimmering sparkle fell from this Pokemon also, and Tessa recognized the Pokemon before her.

"Grey!" she exclaimed as she saw the greenish-gray Kingler before her.

Tessa puzzled over this; she had given Grey to Willow, who had told her that she had given the Shiny to her sister. The trainer she was battling must be Willow's sister, Ivy!

Grey looked happy to see his old trainer again, and clicked his claws with joy. Ivy looked puzzled, and then realization dawned on her face.

"Tessa, is that who you are?" she called.

"Yeah!" cried Tessa.

"Well then, after this battle we can sit down and talk! You can tell me how you've been!"

"Sure!" called Tessa, "Brown, return!"

Brown was called back into the Poke'ball as Tessa pulled another from her bag. She threw it out into the battlefield, and Orange emerged.

"Grey, use Crabhammer!" called Ivy.

"Orange, use Pay Day!"

Grey slammed down his large claw in the space where Orange used to be. Orange shot a multitude of glimmering coins at his exposed side, which caused the Kingler to overbalance.

"Orange, use Slash!"

Orange extended her long claws and slashed long furrows in Gray's exposed underbelly, making the Kingler cry out in pain. Tessa winced as she heard the cry, but knew that she had to continue the battle.

"Orange, Headbutt!"

Orange shot forward and slammed into Grey, causing the Kingler to fly into the air and land with a thud before Ivy. He had fainted.

Ivy called Grey back into the Poke'ball and pulled out another, she threw it into the arena. In the fading light of evening, Tessa could just make out the shape of an Umbreon.

"Twilight, use Faint Attack!"

The Umbreon faded from the light, and a powerful force knocked Orange off her feet. The dark Pokemon was visible again for the time being.

"Orange, use Flash!"

A bright light lit up the arena, and the Umbreon no longer had anywhere to hide. It milled about nervously, waiting for Ivy to call an attack.

"Orange, use Pay Day!"

The sharp coins blasted from the gem on Orange's brow, hitting the Umbreon and making it yelp. The rings on its body began to glow eerily.

"Twilight, Mean Look!"

The rings blasted a bright light while the Umbreon cast an evil glare across the arena. Orange stiffened, hissing her anger, but was no longer able to escape.

"Orange, use Screech, then Slash!"

Orange let loose an earsplitting yowl that caused both Ivy and the Umbreon to cringe, holding their ears. Orange took advantage of the momentary lull in their defense to extend her long claws and slash the Umbreon. The other Pokemon cried out as it was slapped to the other side of the arena. It tried to stand, but its legs gave out, and it collapsed on the cool earth.

"Twilight, return!" called Ivy.

Ivy waved to show that she didn't have any more Pokemon. Tessa called her over, and they set up a fire to spend the night. The two girls let their Pokemon out to enjoy the cool evening, and they all had a nice meal.

The Pokemon played a game of tag, and soon persuaded their trainers to join in. Everybody had fun, even though Tessa and Ivy were most often caught first. When midnight rolled around, they were all tired and laughing.

Tessa curled up against Flame's warm side to sleep, while Ivy chose a more conventional sleeping bag. The Pokemon found spots next to their respective owners to rest, and soon everybody was snoring.

* * *

Orange woke up in the middle of the night when she heard a crunching noise. She quietly stood, careful not to wake her friends, and went to investigate. She saw a soft glow in the distance, and stalked up. The glow turned into an Umbreon, and she recognized it as the one she had battled, Twilight.

"What are you doing up?" she asked, smiling as she saw him jump in surprise.

"I could ask you the same question." he said, turning to face her.

"I heard a noise and went to investigate, what about you?"

The Umbreon looked very nervous, and attempted a weak smile.

"So you heard me, huh?"

Orange purred, stretching her claws into the cool soil as she lay down.

"My hearing may not be as good as an Espeon, but I still know when I hear someone sneaking off. I am a night predator, you know."

"So am I." replied Twilight pointedly, "I was going off to hunt, because Ivy doesn't like to let me."

"Tessa doesn't have a problem with me hunting, why does Ivy have one with you hunting?"

"She doesn't like the idea of me wandering off and killing some innocent creature, but I'm a predator, and I need to hunt."

"I know what you mean. I'll ask Tessa to talk to Ivy about it in the morning."

"Tessa can speak our language?"

"Yes, she's very fluent in it."

"Hey, do you want to hunt with me?" asked Twilight nervously.

Orange purred again, lifting gracefully off the ground as she stood up.

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Tessa opened her eyes groggily as a soft purring waked her. It was still dark out, but she could see the outline of a Persian illuminated by the fires glow.

"Have a nice hunt?" she whispered sleepily.

"Very." replied Orange softly, "Tessa, I need to talk to you about Ivy."

"What about?"

"Well, it's about her Umbreon..."

* * *

_Whirl Islands..._

Silver was being swirled around at a high speed by some unseen force. He tried to swim away from the whirling current, but was caught fast. He finally just shut his eyes and let the whirlpool take him where it would. Swirling in the eddy, he fell asleep.

When Silver finally woke, he was in a shallow tidepool. He looked in mild interest at the high rocks that imprisoned him, but he was not worried. When the tide came in, he would escape, for now, there was a multitude of multicolored fish to snack on. He swallowed a few, and set off to explore what he could before the tide changed.

There were other fish predators stuck to the rocks. He saw a Staryu and Starmie calmly plucking fish out of the water when they came too close. He avoided these, because Staryu and Starmie were not above eating a stray Tentacool if it was not careful. Silver also saw a strange, flower-like Pokemon stuck to the rocks at the bottom of the pool. Two glowing eyes watched him as he approached to investigate, but the Pokemon curled up into a ball at the speed of lightning when he got too close. Perturbed, he talked to it.

"Hello, I won't hurt you. Can you tell me what sort of creature you are?"

The small, plant-like Pokemon moved its petals just enough for Silver to see its eyes. It then spread all of its tentacle-like petals so he could see it properly.

"I'm a Lileep. What are you?" it squeaked.

"I'm a Tentacool. I thought Lileep were extinct?" he answered.

"We Lileep are experts at finding good places to hide." said the Lileep, who looked at Silver inquisitively, "I've never seen a Tentacool before, but I was always told that they were blue, why are you silver?"

"I'm just a different color than all the rest. My name is Silver."

"Ooh, nice name! I'm Petal!"

"Good to meet you." said Silver, "May I ask you where I am? I got caught in a whirlpool, and I'm afraid I'm lost."

"You're in a tidepool on the Southwestern Whirl Island. You can get out when the tide comes in about an hour from now."

"Thank you! I belong in the open sea, not a small tidepool like this one; though the Pokemon are nice." said Silver as Petal beamed at the praise.

"You'll have to know how to get past the whirlpool, and I can teach you how! It's a move called Whirlpool that reverses the swirl of the water to neutralize the current."

"Good!"

"Okay, come behind me and I'll show it to you!"

In exactly an hour the tide came in. Silver said goodbye to his new friend, and swam over the rocks to freedom. He used his newly learned attack to stop the vicious whirlpool from spinning, and shot out into the welcoming sea.

He drifted lazily as Mantine swirled around him, caught in a beautiful undersea ballet. He heard a panicked call from one of them, and swam over to investigate. When he saw what was happening, he wished he hadn't left the tidepool.

A group of two Sharpedo and a Carvanha were ripping into a young Mantine, tearing large chunks out of its wings and tail. Blood billowed in the water, making the predators even more frenzied in their attack.

Anger clouded Silvers vision, and before he knew what he was doing, he used a powerful Whirlpool attack that trapped the vicious predators in the swirling waters. He shot Poison Stings at all of them, making the sharks weak as the venom coursed through their veins. The Carvanha fell, slain by the poison, while the tougher Sharpedo only slowed down. The two predators slammed into him, cutting him with their rough skin. Silver managed to get his stinging tentacles around one, and shot more paralyzing toxins into its blood. The other Sharpedo tore at him, slicing one of his fins and forcing him to release the shark.

Silver was beginning to tire, and the Sharpedo, although considerably slower and weaker, were starting to win the fight. He lashed out with his tentacles, hitting the Sharpedo, but making his limbs raw against their skin. One Sharpedo fell, slain by a particularly well-aimed poison slash. The other cried out in anger, and started to charge. Silver was too tired to move, and he knew he would probably die.

Suddenly, there was a flash of red at his side, and the Sharpedo yelped as a bolt of orange-yellow light hit him. The shark sank slowly to the darkness of the ocean, and blackness enveloped Silver's mind.


	8. 8: New Home, New Friends

Chapter Eight 

Tessa looked at the unconscious silver Tentacool she had found fighting a Sharpedo. The small Pokemon was very brave, and very strong by the look of him. He had been protecting a baby Mantine by what the Pokemon around the battle had told her; and he had defeated a Carvanha and one Sharpedo before Ruby had slain the third.

There was nothing she could do for the wounds on the Mantine, it would have a very lopsided gait; but she could help the Tentacool. She had scooped him up and put him in a basket full of water to bring to a nearby Pokemon Center for treatment. He had a few bad gashes, but would be okay.

She heard a chiming buzz, and looked over at the water beside Ruby. A Lanturn was swimming and buzzing to get her attention.

"Yes?" she asked, patting Ruby to get him to slow down a bit.

"I was wondering, do you have my friend with you? The Mantine sang that Silver would be on a red Gyarados."

"Ah, you mean the silver Tentacool?"

"Yes, his name is Silver."

"Yeah, we have him here. I'm going to bring him to a Pokemon Center to get him healed."

"Is he hurt badly?" asked the Lanturn anxiously.

"Not too bad, few gashes, raw tentacles and such. He's unconscious right now."

"Oh, good. I almost thought he was dead." sighed the Lanturn, relieved.

"Well, you can follow us to the Pokemon Center, and I'll tell you how he's doing in the morning."

"Okay, go as fast as you can, I'll catch up later."

"Alright, Ruby, high speed!"

Ruby shot off at full speed, and they were at the Pokemon center in a matter of minutes. Tessa called Ruby back, and walked into the building.

The Nurse Joy ran up to them and listened to Tessa's explanation, then called for a water tank and Chansey to take him to the back room. She gave Tessa a room key and hurried off. Tessa walked to her room and let out all her Pokemon but Ruby, who already knew the whole story.

When Tessa finished the story, she took her Pokemon out to eat. There was a nice restaurant in town that served Pokemon, and she walked into it. To her surprise, she saw Willow, Ivy, and Hiro at a table in the corner.

Tessa and her Pokemon walked over to the table. Willow looked up and squealed in delight.

"Tessa! I never thought I'd see you here!"

"Hey guys! Is there room enough for me and my Pokemon to sit down?"

"Just a second, I'll call over someone to put a few tables here." said Ivy as she walked off to the front desk.

"Hey, Tessa. I haven't seen you since that time we battled. You seemed to have gotten a few more Pokemon since then." said Hiro.

"Yeah, they're great friends, just like you guys!"

A few waiters came up carrying extra tables, which were added to the table Tessa's friends were sitting at. Ivy sat down in her previous spot, and Tessa and the Pokemon chose spots for themselves. They ordered their food and settled down to wait.

"So, how has everybody been?" asked Tessa.

"I've been great, I finally beat the Elite Four with Pokey." said Hiro proudly.

"How is your Squirtle?" asked Tessa.

"He's a Blastoise now. He's still the best in his game!"

"Great! I'll have to say hi to him later. Willow, how have you done?"

"Smoke learned Fire Blast yesterday! I'm so happy!"

"Geez, you've really raised her levels!"

"Yeah."

"Ivy, how are you?"

"Twilight's a lot happier since I let him hunt. Grey and Sienna have raised a few levels too!"

"Hmmm..."

"How about you, Tessa, how have you been since we saw you last?"

"Well, as you can see, I've found a lot more Shinys. I don't know how I'm finding them, but I am. I found a Shiny Tentacool today, I saved him from a Sharpedo."

"Oh, no! Is he okay?" asked Willow worriedly.

"He'll be fine. I met one of his friends while surfing here, a Lanturn. She says his name is Silver."

"Oh, wow."

The waiter came to the table pulling a cart that carried several trays full of food. He set down the food in front everybody, and wished them a good day. The group ate in relative silence, although a few trivial conversations were started. Soon, they finished and the bill was brought. Hiro looked at it and his face fell.

"Uh, guys?" he said nervously.

"Yeah?"

"I'm a bit short on money, because all mine's in the PC."

Tessa smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't worry, everyone's meal is on me!"

"What! That has to be at least a hundred dollars!"

"Only a hundred?"

"Only!?"

Tessa walked up to the front desk with the bill, she calmly paid the serviceman and waved for her friends. They ran over, and the group walked out of the restaurant.

"We have to go to the hotel, because we're staying there for the night." said Willow, waving as she and Ivy walked off, "Thank you for dinner!"

"You're welcome! Bye!" called Tessa, she turned to Hiro, "Well, it was great seeing you again, bye!"

"Bye! Thank you!" called Hiro as Tessa and her Pokemon walked to the Pokemon Center.

When she got to her room, she flopped tiredly on the bed.

"Well, this was an exciting day!"

"It sure was, you have a lot of friends." said Blue.

"Umm, hmm."

"'Night, Tessa."

"Goodnight, guys."

Soon, the room was filled with the sound of gentle snoring. Glowing eyes shone in the dim light, and a dark shape slipped out the open window to join a shining set of rings. They sped off to hunt together in the cool night air.

Silver awoke to a pounding pain in his head. The Tentacool groaned, and leveled his body in the small tank he was in. He could see a nurse walking about the room through the glass, so he tapped the side of the tank to get her attention. She spun around, and smiled warmly.

"Oh, you're finally awake! A girl brought you in last night after a Sharpedo attacked you. We put some waterproof ointment on your wounds."

"Thank you." said Silver, although he was sure the human would not be able to understand him.

The nurse patted his head, still smiling.

"The girl who brought you in will be here shortly; she was worried about you. I'll go tell her that you're awake now, okay?"

The nurse hurried out of the room, leaving Silver alone except for the few other Pokemon surrounding him. He saw a tank with a Horsea opposite him, and waved to get its attention.

"Hey, where am I?"

The Horsea bobbed to the surface of its tank. It had a long scar over its snout, and its fins were ragged.

"Yer in da Cianwood Pokemon Center, Squishy."

"My name's not squishy..." said Silver, confused, "Its Silver."

"Whatever, ting is, der's not much chance dat yer ever gonna see the sea 'gain, bub."

"Why?"

"Da 'umans ell take ya, and they'll make ya battle. It's 'ow I got my scar, see."

"Why do they do that?"

"They do it for money, and popularity wit they're own kind."

"Well, nice talking to you... umm, what's your name?"

"It's Dagmar. I'll see ya 'gain someday, probably when a 'uman owns ya."

Silver sank back into the cool water, wondering what would happen to him. He wondered what the human who saved him was like. All he remembered was that bright orange-yellow flash before he had blacked out.

Tessa hurried down the corridor, heading for the room where the Tentacool she had saved was kept. She had called back all her Pokemon but Lavender, because they would create a commotion in the Center if they were all together. Her popularity as the Shiny Assassin had grown immensely since the first battle against Hiro.

She came into the room where water Pokemon were kept. She recognized Silver immediately; his silvery skin was unmistakable. She walked over to his tank, and he watched her with mild curiosity.

"Hello," she said, "My name is Tessa."

"Hi, I'm Silver."

"I know, your Lanturn friend told me."

"What?"

"Your Lanturn friend told me what your name was; she should be waiting, to see how you're doing, at the coast. I'll have to go and tell her after I'm finished talking to you."

"So you can speak Pokemon?"

"My first Pokemon taught me. Oh, this is Lavender, my Nidoran." said Tessa as Lavender nipped her ear.

"Hi," said Silver, waving at Lavender "aren't female Nidoran blue?"

"She's a Shiny, just like you."

"I'm a what?"

"A Shiny, you have a different color from other Pokemon."

"That's all?"

"Yeah, but it makes humans want to collect you."

"Do you want to capture me?"

"Only if you want to come with me; I always ask, because I can talk to Pokemon and know what they feel."

"It's _fun_ to be trained by Tessa!" squeaked Lavender enthusiastically.

"Really?" said Silver doubtfully.

"Yeah!" said Lavender.

"Come on, you guys. No fighting." said Tessa, directed at Lavender. She looked at Silver, " I'm going to go tell your Lanturn friend that you're okay. Bye!"

As Tessa started to walk of, Silver shot to the surface, waving frantically.

"Wait, can I go with you? I want to see how Current's doing!"

Tessa hesitated, considering.

"Well, I'll ask the nurse. If she thinks you're up to it, you can come with me."

"Thanks!"

Tessa carried the heavy water basket to the coast, and then sent out Ruby. She climbed on his back, and they sped off to deeper water to meet with Current. The Lanturn was right where she said she'd be, and was overjoyed to see her friend in good health.

"Silver, you're okay! I was so worried!" she said, blinking the light on her head rapidly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." said Silver, "It's great to be in the ocean again."

Tessa looked sadly across the water, and sighed.

"Nurse Joy said that you would be able to go today, so you can go now if you want."

"Really?" said Current happily.

"Yeah, you're free to go." she said, "Bye, Silver."

"Wait." said Silver nervously, "Tessa, you saved my life. I owe you something for that."

"No, Silver, you don't. Its just part of the job."

"Well, if you're sure..."

"Yeah, you ca-"

Suddenly, a chorus of shrieks erupted from the water. People that were swimming ran as fast as they could to the shore.

"What's that all about?" mused Silver.

Tessa and Lavender, however, could hear what the screams were saying. A look of horror spread over both faces.

"Silver, swim fast! There's Sharpedo in the water!"

"What?"

"Go! I'll keep them from chasing you guys!"

The tall dorsal fins of the sharks were speeding toward the speakers. Current pulled Silver away as he struggled to help the rearing Gyarados. Ruby cried out as the Sharpedo ripped into his flesh, and he let loose a Hyper Beam that killed two of the sharks. The others continued to attack, trying to get past to the Tentacool and Lanturn.

"I have to help!" cried Silver as he tore away from Current's grasp.

He sped to the fight, using a Supersonic to confuse the sharks and make them attack each other. He then used Whirlpool to keep the Sharpedo in one spot while Ruby finished them off with another Hyper Beam.

While one shark sank to the bottom, still struggling feebly, it called out in rage at the battlers.

"You'll never get away! We'll keep hunting you to the ends of the Earth, and you'll never have a moment to yourself until you're dead!" It called with its dying breath.

Current swam up cautiously, skirting the place where the Sharpedo had fallen. Tessa was tending Ruby's gashes, spraying waterproof potion on them and calling him back into the Poke'ball. She rode Current to shore.

"Are you okay, Silver?" she asked.

"I'm fine, it seems that Ruby got the worst of it. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."

"Why?"

"The Sharpedo won't stop hunting me, they want revenge. I'm afraid that I won't be able to return to the ocean."

"Oh, no!" wailed Current.

"You can come with me if you want." said Tessa tentatively.

"I'll have to. Besides, you saved my life twice in two days! I owe you this."

"Well, if you want to..."

"I do."

"Well, bye Silver. I understand that you have to leave for your own safety, and you do owe Tessa something for saving your life." murmured Current.

"Bye Current, you're still my best friend!" said Silver as he disappeared in a Poke'ball.

The Poke'ball twitched a few times, and then went still. Tessa said goodbye to Current, telling her that Silver was in good hands. She returned to the Pokemon Center, healed Ruby, and packed her things. She had a difficult choice ahead of her; She called out Ruby.

"Ruby, I have a dilemma. I now have seven Pokemon, and I'm only allowed to have six. Do you think you would like to stay at Professor Oak's lab for a few months?"

"Well, you do need to train the newbie, so I guess I'll go on vacation for a while." sighed Ruby sadly.

"Thank you so much, Ruby, you're really great! I promise, soon I'll get a huge reserve just for all my Pokemon. I just need to find the perfect place."

"Bye for now, Tessa."

"Bye, Ruby. Return." said Tessa as she called back the Gyarados.

She walked to the PC and sent the Poke'ball to the lab in Pallet Town, sighing as she did so.

"Good luck."


	9. 9: To Fight

Chapter Nine

"Go, Mightyena!"

"Silver, show 'em what you're made of!"

In a grand entrance to the tournament that Tessa was participating in, the huge Tentacruel bust out of the Poke'ball. The Mightyena tried to look intimidating, but when it was soaked in the water that had sloshed over it when Silver entered the arena, it just managed to look cute. Silver giggled, but kept his focus.

"Mightyena, use Take Down!"

The wolf-like Pokemon charged full speed at Silver. When it reached him, it jumped and slammed into his head, but since Tentacruel are made up mostly of water, Silver took no damage, and the Mightyena was bounced across the battlefield.

"Silver, use Poison Sting!"

The Tentacruel shot dozens of poisonous barbs across the flooded arena at the bedraggled wolf. It howled in pain as the quills made contact with its skin.

"Mightyena, shake it off and use Crunch!"

The Mightyena, although poisoned, managed to produce a lopsided gait that brought it within range to use an attack. It lunged for Silver, who easily dodged.

"Silver, Constrict!"

Silver shot out his tentacles, ensnaring the limping Mightyena in his coils. He squeezed, and the Pokemon howled in pain before fainting.

"Mightyena, return!" called the boy they were battling. He took out another Poke'ball from his belt.

"Go, Torkoal!"

The steaming turtle Pokemon appeared in the arena. It stomped its feet and bellowed, ready for the fight.

"Torkoal, Iron Defense!"

The Torkoal glowed, taking on a glossy sheen as its defense nearly doubled. Silver growled his displeasure.

"Silver, finish it off with Hydro Pump!"

The Tentacruel blasted water at the fire Pokemon, who looked at the torrent with dread before being engulfed. It screamed as the water entered its shell, creating a billowing white cloud over the arena. Silver kept blasting water until the screams faded, and the white cloud diminished. The Torkoal was unconscious.

The crowd erupted as Tessa was declared the winner of the tournament. She beamed, congratulating Silver on a job well done. The announcer handed them the prize money, and she left the building.

Outside, hundreds of people congratulated her; many of which only knew her as the Shiny Assassin. She sighed, brushing off their compliments and offers to trade as gently as she could, and walked to the bus that would take her to a Pokemon Center. The people on the bus gasped, and some made room for her to sit in the back.

Tessa sighed again and thought to herself as she waited for her stop. There was just too much popularity all of a sudden. Suddenly, an ad from newspaper someone was holding caught her eye.

_If you want peace, relaxation, and Pokemon; come __to Hoenn.  
This large island in the Pacific has everything  
__a personcould want for a relaxing vacation, or  
__even a full time stay! Plus, there's even a Pokemon  
__League all its ownThis island has miles of wild country  
__for the active explorer, and large cities for the elegant  
__population! Come today; don't throw it all away!_

Tessa thought about this as she walked off the bus. Surely there must be some catch! As she waited for her Pokemon to be healed, she looked it up on the Internet. There was loads of space, and all of the land was very cheap! She looked up boats going to the area, and found one that was leaving the next day. Tessa reserved a ticket, and smiled to herself. She was going to keep her promise to Ruby after all!

* * *

_Four months later, Hoenn..._

"Come on, you idiot Pokemon! I bought you because you were strong and rare! Earn you're keep, and I might give you something to eat later!"

The Pokemon struggled in the heavy shackles he was in. His elegant blue striped tail swished behind him in agitation as he strained to get off the ground.

"Come on! Fly! Those shackles aren't even heavy!"

The Pokemon looked doubtfully at the hundred pound weights attached to each manacle. His stomach growled painfully, and the call for food was just too much to resist. He redoubled his efforts, wings churning as he managed to lift a few feet off the ground before collapsing in the dirt.

"Well, I guess I'll have to settle for that, you weakling! Tomorrow you get arm bindings too! I'm giving you half rations tonight, and if you want any more food, I suggest that you try harder!" said the boy, taking out a whip and slashing a painful gash in the Pokemon's back.

The creature cried out in pain and anguish, and the trainer laughed.

"Crying will do you no good, weakling, it'll only make your workload heavier!"

The trainer slammed the switch down on the Pokemon's back again; blood ran down his sides, but he did not cry out this time. His eyes blazed with anger, and he growled.

The Tyranitar at the other side of the gym glanced up curiously, but looked back down swiftly as the trainer glared at it. The boy frowned at the growling Pokemon before him and, holding the whip high, brought it down on the creature's wing, slicing the membrane. The Pokemon cried out again, and the boy chuckled.

"Do I have to put you in the ice room again, or are you going to listen to me? Oh, by the way, I've cancelled you're food."

The Pokemon snapped; he roared in rage and used a powerful Dragonbreath on the trainer, making the boy cry out and fall back as blisters erupted on his exposed skin. The creature bellowed again, and used a Hyper Beam to burst the shackles around its ankles. He flapped his wings, wincing at the pain of the slice in the membrane, but gaining altitude.

The enraged dragon Pokemon used another Hyper Beam on the steel doors, blowing them out into the street beyond. He exploded out of the building, flying north rapidly. The Tyranitar and Flareon that were training in the gym at the time also ran out of the doors, relieved to be free once again, and ran into the dense forest as stunned humans looked on from the side of the streets.

* * *

Tessa relaxed on the couch in her new living room. The construction had just been finished yesterday, and now she had a one hundred and twenty thousand acre estate for her Pokemon to roam in. She had let all of her Pokemon out into the land. The only boundaries were fifteen-foot high fences all around her property, and these were mostly just to keep greedy humans out. The estate had a lake for the water Pokemon, a thick forest and grassland for the animal types, a small desert for ground types, and a volcano for the fire types. There was even a large barn for baths and grooming if the Pokemon wanted them.

Many wild Pokemon also lived inside the boundaries, but she wasn't worried about these; the entire point of buying this land was to crate a natural habitat that her Pokemon could live in like they were in the wild. It had cost her about half of her saved money, but she could always battle and get more. The Pokemon were very happy, and that was what counted; plus, she could raise many more without feeling like she was neglecting the ones she already had!

Tessa had already trained at least fifty others; besides her shiny team, which were her best friends. She had Flygon, Salamence, Metagross, Kingdra, Lanturn, Walrein, Ninetails, Raichu, Absol, Milotic, Armaldo, Aggron, Breloom, Pelipper, Sceptile, and who knows how many others. Almost all of them were raised to frightening levels, and knew the best attacks. She was content.

A Charizard flew past the window, and Tessa recognized it as the one she had trained after coming here, the female's name was Wood Smoke. The female had, surprisingly, taken Flame as her mate, and populated Tessa's estate with Charmander. She smiled, remembering Flame's face when he had first met Wood Smoke. Then she remembered the rest of her Pokemon, most of them had chosen mates now. She fleetingly thought of a career as a Pokemon breeder, but knew that she could not give up any of the young Pokemon without knowing exactly how they would be treated.

Orange purred beside her, snapping Tessa out of her daydream. The Persian hopped down from the couch and walked to the computer. She turned it on and surfed the web, which she had learned how to do from Tessa. Lavender hopped from the chair across the room and sat on a stool beside the Persian. They were looking at an auction site when a tiny popup came up on the screen.

"You have mail!" it squeaked.

Tessa walked over and asked if she could sit down; Orange hopped off the chair and set her front paws on the desk, watching intently. Tessa logged into her e-mail and saw that the letter was from Professor Birch, who lived in a town not far from her property. She opened it and read the letter with increasing interest.

_Tessa..._

_I have received a report of a flying Pokemon terrorizing a town in the northern region of Hoenn. I don't have the resources to go, and my daughters aren't in Hoenn at the moment. The Pokemon is rumored to be a Shiny, so I thought that you would be the best bet for the job. I want you to go to Fallarbor Town and check it out. If you want to take this mission, come to my lab immediately. Send a reply, please._

_-Prof. Birch_

Tessa quickly sent a letter saying that she would be there shortly, and ran outside to call her Pokemon. She chose to take Silver, Lavender, Orange, Blue, Brown, and Flame; they were her original team (minus Ruby). She left the Gyarados in charge of the estate while she was gone.

Tessa called all but Flame and Lavender into their Poke'balls. She jumped on Flame's back and they quickly set off for Littleroot Town. Despite the situation, she was overjoyed to feel the wind in her hair again as they flew through the sky. She felt free of the world, and the feeling was great.

* * *

They touched down at Professor Birch's lab, and the scientist came hurrying out, waving a paper. As she dismounted, he gave her the document.

"What's this?" she said, looking at it in curiosity.

"It's the report about the Pokemon. They said that it attacked its trainer and escaped after blasting the doors. No one got a good enough glimpse to say what it was, but they said it sparkled like glitter. Now there are reports of a Pokemon terrorizing Fallarbor, and I'm afraid that it may be the same one. The trainer only got minor burns, thankfully."

"Hmm. Did anybody say what color it was?"

"Well, some witnesses said they saw flashes of blue and green, but that's all."

"Okay. I'll fly to Mauville tonight, and then I'll let Flame have a rest. After that, I'll ride my mach bike to Fallarbor. That should only take about three days in all."

"Good. I'm counting on you!" called Professor Birch as Tessa and Flame lifted off again.

Flame had been flying hard, and was now exhausted. Tessa had asked him to land, but he refused to do so until they reached Mauville. Tessa finally gave up, although she continued to worry. Finally, she saw bright lights up ahead. Lavender sighed; glad that they had at last reached their destination.

"Mauville's coming up!" said Flame over the wind; he sounded relieved.

"Good!" said Tessa.

Flame landed rather shakily at the front of the Pokemon Center. Tessa called him into his Poke'ball and hurried into the building.

This Pokemon Center was much busier than the ones in Jhoto. There were trainers bustling about everywhere, showing off their Pokemon and badges. Tessa walked straight to the front desk and had all her Pokemon healed. She reserved a room for the night, and got some food.

Tessa walked to a small, deserted table in the corner and let her Pokemon out. She gave them some of her food, and got water for them as well. A boy in a white t-shirt and yellow hat walking past stopped suddenly, turning his head in amazement.

"Hey, were you on TV a while back? At that big tournament?"

Tessa nodded while she sipped her root beer.

"Wow! Then you must be who they call the Shiny Assassin!"

"My name's Tessa." said Tessa.

"Oh. Sorry, can I sit here?"

"Go ahead, it's a free country."

"Thanks. Your Pokemon look really strong!"

"I've raised them for years."

"I just got my first Pokemon. My dad bought it for me as a present for my fifteenth Birthday."

Tessa wondered what kind of Pokemon this boy had. She remembered when she had gotten Flame for her twelfth Birthday.

"Neat. What kind is it?"

"Oh, I'll show you." he said, pulling out a Poke'ball, "By the way, my name's Cougar."

He pressed the button on the front of the sphere, and a soft, yellow Vulpix materialized in front of Tessa in a shower of glitter. It jumped in Cougars lap, licking his face happily.

"Wow, another Shiny! I never thought I'd see another one!" exclaimed Tessa happily, leaning forward to get a better look at the golden ball of fluff.

"Yeah, she's my best friend, even though we can't understand each other."

"I can help that. I'll ask her name so you don't have to call her just 'Vulpix'"

"You can speak Pokemon?"

Tessa nodded and asked the Vulpix her name. The tiny fox was too surprised to speak at first, but then snapped out of it.

"My name is Sparkle!" she replied, waving her six curled tails.

Tessa smiled and told Cougar the Vulpixs' name.

"Wow, that is such a beautiful name!" said Cougar happily, hugging the Vulpix as she tried to squirm around to lick his face again.

"She doesn't look like she's very old though, where'd your dad find her?"

"He got her at a Vulpix farm. She was half price because they said she was defective," said Cougar. He frowned, hugging the Vulpix again, "but I think she's perfect."

"Why did they say that?" asked Lavender, Tessa translated.

"They said that her fire attacks aren't very good. Whenever we practiced, her flame backfired and got her instead. She can only use physical attacks effectively."

"That's not a very big problem. She's so young that all she needs is some experience. I could have Flame help her if you want." Said Tessa; Flame nodded in agreement.

"That would be great! We can start tomorrow!"

"Yeah, but unless you want to travel, I can only give her one lesson. I have a schedule."

"Huh? What kind of schedule?"

"I've been sent on a mission by Professor Birch. I have to get to Fallarbor Town in two days."

"How are you going to get there that fast?"

"I'm planning on riding my mach bike the rest of the way."

"Oh. I have a mach bike too, I could go with you and raise Sparkle that way!"

"You do realize that this mission could be dangerous?"

"Yeah, but we need some adventure to keep away the boring monotone of life, you know?"

"Yeah. Then it's agreed. We start off at dawn tomorrow!"

The Pokemon cheered.


	10. 10: Desert Sands

Chapter Ten

"Sparkle, try Ember!"

The tiny Vulpix opened her mouth, and a spurt of flame shot out, but instead of hitting Flame, it curled back and slammed into Sparkle. The Vulpix got to her feet doggedly, though she was used to this happening.

Flame walked up to the Vulpix and gave her some tips on how to control the fire, then ambled back to the other side of the makeshift arena and signaled that he was ready to begin.

Sparkle tried again to produce a reliable Ember, and managed to make it straight enough that it didn't hit her, but curved to the side. It hadn't hit Flame either.

She tried again. The fire wriggled like a snake, and hit Flame head on, making him reel back a little, but did not hurt him. Cougar cheered, and Sparkle looked like she was going to cry with joy. Flame called Tessa over to speak with her about the Vulpix's fire.

"I think the squiggle to her flame is natural," he said, looking curiously at the yapping fox, "she's a different type of Vulpix. She could probably do attacks I couldn't even think of!"

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah. She should be a hit at tournaments, that's for sure! Especially when she evolves into a Ninetails."

"Hmm. She looks like she's pretty powerful for her age too, though that could be because she was born on a farm."

"Yeah, we should keep practicing."

Sparkle yipped to show that she was ready to try again, and Flame took up his position on the far end of the arena. Again the wriggling flame snaked across the battlefield, sending up earth behind it from its speed. It hit Flame with tremendous force, knocking him backwards onto the dusty ground.

The little Vulpix leaped for joy as Flame picked himself up from the ground. She sent tiny spurts of fire from her mouth, watching them twist away and fade in the morning light. Cougar picked her up and gave her a treat, smiling widely.

"This is the best thing that's ever happened! Thank you guys so much!"

"No problem. We should get going now; it's starting to get late."

"Okay."

The two trainers pulled out their mach bikes and unfolded them. When the bikes were reconstructed, Tessa called Flame back and sent out Lavender to enjoy the ride. Cougar set Sparkle in the small wire and cloth basket on the front of his bike, and Tessa did the same for Lavender.

The going was slow at first, but soon they were riding at an amazing speed. The land around them was transformed into little more than a blur as they rode by. Suddenly, Tessa saw something up ahead, and she pulled on the brakes, screeching to a halt just before she ran into a row of boulders. Cougar had also seen them, and he pulled to a stop beside her.

"What now?" he asked.

"Well, I think Brown knows Rock Smash." answered Tessa.

She pulled a Poke'ball from her belt and pressed the button. The Kadabra materialized in front of them, and Tessa told him their predicament.

"No problem," said the Kadabra, "I can get these boulders out of the way even though I don't know Rock Smash."

"Oh, yeah..." mumbled Tessa as Brown moved the rocks with his Psychic powers.

She thanked the Kadabra and called him back into the Poke'ball, reassuring him that she would let him out at the next Pokemon Center. They rode on, but came to a huge obstacle that could not be crossed as easily.

"Oh, the desert." said Tessa, looking at the swirling sandstorm enveloping the huge expanse of sand, she glanced at Cougar, "Do you have Go Goggles?"

"Afraid not." said Cougar, staring at the arid land with curiosity.

"Well, we'll have to make a detour to Lavaridge then."

"Lavaridge? Don't we have to go to Mt. Chimney to get there?"

"Yeah. Well, let's get going." said Tessa as she turned her bike away from the swirling sands.

"Wait up!" called Cougar as they sped to the mountain.

"You want to go up the mountain?" asked the lady at the cable car service desk.

"Yes, please." answered Tessa.

"Well, that'll be twenty dollars for each passenger."

"I don't have that much money!" hissed Cougar to Tessa, who just shrugged.

"Don't worry about it." she said, handing the service lady forty dollars.

"Thank you for riding with Chimney Cable Car Services. Have a nice day!" said the lady, helping them into the contraption.

"Thank _you_." replied Tessa, buckling her seatbelt and moving Lavender from her shoulder to her lap.

As the car started moving upwards, Tessa saw that Cougar was shuddering, trying not to look outside.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't like heights." replied Cougar fearfully, squeezing Sparkle.

"Don't worry. I was afraid of heights too, until I went flying with Flame!"

"That doesn't help."

"Worth a try, though."

They passed the rest of the trip in relative silence, except for when Sparkle squeaked in protest when Cougar squeezed too hard. Soon, they reached the summit.

"Finally!" exclaimed Cougar, stepping out of the car, "I thought I'd never get off that thing!"

Tessa, Lavender, and Sparkle just giggled. Cougar gave them all scathing looks, then smiled.

"I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

"Nah, just funny!" squeaked Lavender, making Sparkle laugh even harder.

"What?" demanded Cougar, looking at Sparkle.

"Lavender just said something funny, that's all." soothed Tessa, smiling despite the look on Cougar's face.

"Fine," Cougar sighed, "Let's get to Lavaridge."

The two took out their mach bikes and sped down the Jagged Pass to the small town. Lavaridge was famous for its hot springs, which were provided by the heated water under the volcano.

When they reached the town, Tessa immediately headed for the store. She bought a pair of Go Goggles for Cougar and, on a second thought, bought two mini Goggles for Lavender and Sparkle.

Cougar was amazed at his goggles, and so was Sparkle with hers. They looked comical when they put them on, though, and Tessa couldn't help but laugh. The two laughed at what Tessa and Lavender looked like as well.

"Let's just save these for the desert, why don't we?" said Tessa, taking off her goggles.

The others nodded, and took theirs off as well.

"I know a shortcut to the desert, so we can get there faster than we came here." said Tessa, gesturing to a well-concealed path that the others would have missed if she hadn't pointed it out.

"Wow! Let's get going then."

* * *

The desert wasn't very big, and they were able to get through most of it in only a few hours with the help of their bikes. There was only a short stretch left, so they decided to take a break for a while. Tessa found a sheltering boulder, and the sat down under it. Cougar flopped down on the slightly cooler sand.

"Whew, it's hot!"

"It _is_ a desert, you know."

"Yeah, but I didn't realize they were _this_ hot."

"We'll be out of it in a while."

"Hey, what's that?" said Cougar, suddenly focusing at a spot in the sand.

Tessa looked at the spot also, and saw a slight movement.

"I don't know. Let's wait and see."

The sand moved a few more times, and then a small, brown head emerged from the dust. The strange Pokemon rose and shook the dirt off. It floated above the ground, looking at them curiously.

"Hello," it said, though the voice was in their heads. Tessa realized that this was a psychic Pokemon.

"We don't get many humans through here anymore, too many Trapinch, you know."

"Really, what do they do?" asked Cougar.

"They dig big holes in the sand and wait for prey to fall into it. They crush them and eat them, and they don't much care what it is they eat."

"Sounds dangerous."

"It is, human, especially for ones who cannot fly."

"Why are you the only Pokemon we've seen so far, then?"

"Most Pokemon live only in the deep sand, which you two went into when you approached the boulder. Plus, I've never seen a human up close before, and I was curious."

"Wow, if you don't mind my asking, what type of Pokemon are you?"

"I'm a Baltoy."

"Cool, never thought I'd see one of you guys."

"We're very rare." said the Baltoy proudly.

"Yeah. Well, it was nice to meet you, but I think we should go now so we don't run into any Trapinch."

"I guess so. It was a rare treat to see a human up close, thank you."

"Same here reversed."

Tessa and Cougar picked up their Pokemon and put them in the baskets. The Baltoy watched this, and then floated up to Cougar again.

"Yes?" asked Cougar when the Baltoy nudged him.

"I was thinking, where are you going?"

"We're going to Fallarbor to investigate a Pokemon attack."

"Really? Can I come?"

"I'm sure you can, if it's okay with Tessa?"

"Sure, the more the merrier. You do realize this could be dangerous?" She asked the Baltoy.

"Yes, but I have chosen my trainer, and I know the risks."

"Oh! You want me to be your trainer?" asked Cougar in surprise.

"Yes."

"Thank you! I think the basket is big enough for both you and Sparkle." He said, carrying the Baltoy the last few feet to the bike.

"By the way, my name's Jaycou."

"I'm Cougar." said Cougar.

"Well, we're off!" said Tessa, speeding off on her bike.

Cougar raced after her, and Jaycou leaned out of the basket, watching in fascination as the ground flew by. The trainers laughed, and biked faster. Soon, they had left the desert and were on their way to the ash-fields.


	11. 11: Ash Fields

Chapter Eleven

"This place is depressing." said Cougar as they rode through the ash covered plain.

"The ash from Mt. Chimney all settles here, making it inhabitable only to very hardy species of wildlife. Some Pokemon are exclusive to this area." explained Tessa, brushing a bit of ash off her shoulder as she talked.

"This is very interesting. What kinds of Pokemon live here?" asked Jaycou, who was looking all over for a sighting of some mysterious life form though the falling powder.

"Mostly Spinda, but we might see Skarmory and Sandshrew as well." answered Tessa; she pointed out a blurry shape in the distance.

"That's a Spinda there, and a few feet away there's a Skarmory. I wonder what it'll do?"

They watched as the Skarmory slowly crept up on the small Spinda. It suddenly pounced, and the Spinda let out an earsplitting shriek as the metallic predator brought it down. Cougar cringed at the sound, and looked at Tessa.

"Couldn't we have saved it?" he asked.

"The Skarmory needs to eat, and it keeps the populations balanced. The next meal it has its eye on may fight back and kill it, leaving one less Skarmory as well. Its nature."

"Oh, yeah."

"Come on, let's go. There'll be nothing more in the area for quite a while." said Tessa, turning her bike to give the feeding bird a wide berth and continuing down the path.

Cougar hesitated, and then followed. There was nothing more in the ash fields while they biked through. They came to the edge of the wasteland, and stopped cold.

"It's just like the desert!" exclaimed Cougar, looking at the expanse of swirling sand before them.

"This isn't right!" said Tessa.

They donned their Goggles and passed through the new obstacle. The wind was fiercer here, and the sand stung their exposed skin like needle pricks. The only one in the group that seemed at home was Jaycou, and even he was not used to such high winds.

* * *

The group finally passed through the sands, to be faced with a disaster area. The town of Fallarbor was nothing but sand blown houses, and it was obvious what had happened. They slogged through the mess to the Pokemon Center, which was one of the less devastated buildings.

"What happened here?" asked Tessa, worry making her look older than she was.

"A feral Pokemon attacked the town! Only one person got a decent look at it, and no one even knows what it is! The damage to the town is massive! Who are you?" asked the close-to-hysterical Nurse Joy at the desk.

"I'm Tessa. I was sent by Professor Birch to investigate this incident."

"Aren't you a little young, dear?"

"I'm sixteen. Besides, I've never met a problem I couldn't handle yet!"

"Wait, you look familiar in a way.... Oh! You're the famous girl from Jhoto, aren't you? They call you the Shiny Assassin?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Oh, then I'll show you to the Mayor, and he'll show you the sketch the local artist made of the Pokemon he saw."

"Okay. Let's go, Cougar."

"Coming." said Cougar, picking up Sparkle and letting Jaycou follow him.

The group walked to a building next to the Pokemon Center. A weary looking man was leaning on his hands behind a desk, but he looked up as they arrived.

"Hello, what's this?"

"The girl has been sent by Professor Birch to investigate the incident, Mayor."

"Really? Why would the Professor send a young girl to this kind of investigation?"

"She's the Shiny Assassin."

"Well, that's all well and good, bu- What? She's the famous Shiny Assassin?"

"Yes, sir." said Tessa proudly."

"Really? Well, that changes things! We have a sketch that our artist made of the beast, can you identify it?" said the Mayor, handing Tessa a paper.

She looked at it carefully. It was a truly well done sketch, although it was drawn from the artist perspective, so only a few scant details could be seen of the creature. She recognized it immediately; and if the first witnesses were correct, the colors coincided with it being a Shiny as well!

"Yes, I know what it is."

"Good, good! Tell us."

"It's a Flygon. Really high level too, and a Shiny."

"What! A Shiny, you say? Well, that's interesting, but we still can't have it terrorizing our town."

"I understand that, Mayor. I propose that I go on an expedition to capture it and relocate it to a new, not to mention safer, area."

"Good! But isn't that dangerous?"

"Not for me."

* * *

Sparkle felt funny. She had gotten so much stronger with her training sessions, but now it felt like she had so much strength she would burst! She whimpered quietly, though she knew this meeting was important and she shouldn't make noise.

"What's wrong?" whispered Cougar, stroking her head soothingly.

"I feel weird..." she said softly.

Suddenly, the room was quiet. Every human was staring at her. She cringed, thinking she'd done something wrong. Tessa came up to her and stroked her fur, whispering softly for her not to be afraid. She wondered what that meant.

"Put her down, Cougar, she's about to evolve." Tessa said to her trainer.

Evolve, what was that? Cougar set her down, and she looked around curiously. Suddenly, a white light blurred her vision, and she felt herself expanding. Her tails split and became bushier; her nose lengthened into a fine muzzle. Lastly, her legs and torso became longer and more graceful. The white light left, and Sparkle found that she was much taller than she had been; all the humans were looking at her in awe.

"What?" she asked, surprised at how her voice had become sleeker as well.

"You're now a Ninetales!" exclaimed Tessa happily while the Nidoran on her shoulder clapped.

"Really?" she looked herself over in a mirror that the Nurse had provided.

Her fur had changed from gold to a rich, silky silver. She looked beautiful, more so than even a Dragonair! She flipped her new, longer tails and posed.

"That's one nice lookin' Ninetales you have there, sonny!" said the Mayor, "You could put her in a beauty contest if you feed her some Poke'blocks."

Cougar just stroked her luxurious fur and smiled happily. She yipped and leaned up to lick his face.

* * *

Tessa smiled again at the new Ninetales. The fox was happily smothering Cougar with licks, so Tessa turned back to the Mayor.

"So, when should I set off after that Flygon?"

"What? Oh, yes. Well, I think you should start tomorrow, seein' that you just got here and all. I'm sure Nurse Joy has a few rooms available at the Pokemon Center?"

"The place is almost empty since that creature got here." replied Nurse Joy, looking out the window at the sand.

The group left the Mayor's office and walked back to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy gave them both their room keys, and Cougar set off to his room. Tessa hung back at the PC, and she sent Orange back to her house.

A Sceptile's head came up on the screen.

"Hi, Tessa! Who do you want to be sent to you?"

In a second, she saw Orange's face on the monitor as well.

"Yeah, and why'd you send me back?"

Tessa smiled at the two, and sighed.

"I've got a secret plan. Orange, you wouldn't be very good at fighting a Flygon, I should know! Dapwood, will you go get Snap for me?" she said, addressing the Sceptile.

"Can do, boss!" said the Sceptile cheerfully.

"He knows I hate it when he calls me that." sighed Tessa.

"Yeah, that's why he does it." answered Orange, a slight smile appearing on her face.

"I know. I'll see you soon, okay?" said Tessa as she saw Dapwood coming back in the background.

"Sure thing, boss!" said the Persian, smiling evilly as Tessa gave her an exasperated smile.

A Poke'ball appeared in the machine beside the PC, and she picked it up. If she was right, Snap would be an essential part of her plan. She'd fill her and all the rest if her Pokemon in on the situation when she got to her room.

Tessa and Cougar sped down the trail to where the Flygon was supposed to be denned. The sand flew around them, and the visibility was not good; they never saw the Flygon leave the huge cave just before they arrived.

When they got to the cave, Tessa examined the interior. There was nothing to be found but a small, steel chain link in the corner. Tessa pocketed it and turned to leave when a distant roar alerted her to the closeness of the beast. She ran outside to where Cougar was waiting just in time to see the Pokemon flying northward through the sand.

"If it keeps going that way it'll be in Jhoto in no time!"

"I get the sinking feeling that that's where it wants to go." said Tessa uneasily.

"Well, can we ride on Flame to follow it?"

" Flame's wings aren't wide enough to glide for that long with passengers; he would tire out and fall into the sea. Besides, we need to inform Fallarbor where we're going first." said Tessa, pulling out a cell phone from one of the many pockets in her jeans.

She dialed the number for the Fallarbor pokemon Center, and Nurse Joy popped up on the veiwscreen.

"Yes? Oh, Tessa! How is your mission?"

"The Flygon has decided to fly over the ocean. I'm going to follow it. Cougar will have to travel back to the Pokemon Center because Snap can't take two passengers."

"Hey, how will I follow the Flygon that way?" protested Cougar.

"You can go by boat and follow the updates made by Tessa?" supplied Nurse Joy.

"Yeah, that'll work. But how will he afford a boat ride?" asked Tessa.

"It'll be free, provided by the town of Fallarbor."

"Okay then, I'll have to go now if I want to be able to follow it, bye!" said Tessa, clicking off the Phone as the Nurse said 'bye'.

"I'll travel back to Fallarbor, then. Bye for now!" said Cougar, getting on his mach bike.

"Bye, safe trip!" called Tessa.

She sent out Snap as Cougar sped down the path. The dragon Pokemon spread her wide wings, beckoning Tessa to ride. Tessa laughed as Snap lifted off, and felt the cool sea air ruffle her hair. She saw the Flygon in the distance, and pointed him out to her Pokemon. Snap let out a soft cry and adjusted her path to follow the beast in the distance.


	12. 12: Musings

Chapter Twelve

The Flygon remembered the maps he had seen when he was still a Trapinch; they had all said that there was a mainland somewhere north of Hoenn. He wanted to head for it now, and maybe the humans would stop following him then.

He heard a soft cry in the distance, and looked back slightly. He almost faltered in the air; there was another Flygon! It had a human on its back, but that was not what held his attention. This Flygon was beautiful, even at a distance; and it was female. He suddenly didn't mind if he was followed, even if the female was most likely brainwashed by her human.

He let out a small cry in answer, speeding up in his flight to the mainland. He would test this female's endurance while he was escaping; she may be half wild after all.

The female sped up in reply, flying easily. The Flygon smiled to himself, and did a difficult aerial maneuver. The other Flygon did an even more difficult trick, with a human on her back!

His eyes widened in surprise; even he couldn't do that maneuver! He finally just stuck to flying straight; he would reach his destination soon, and save himself some embarrassment as well.

* * *

"Well, Snap, looks like we won't have any trouble following him, right?"

"Yeah, Tessa. He seems to have been chastened by the last move I did." chuckled the Flygon.

Tessa giggled. The Shiny Flygon might settle in a place that would be far away from human civilization, making her job easier; she could probably talk to it and find out what was wrong when it calmed down, too.

She wondered whom the trainer was that it attacked, and why it would. Professor Birch had said that the boy who had trained it had been badly burned, but would survive. That was good, since if the Pokemon had killed a human, he would have a certain death sentence.

Snap let out another soft cry, stiffening her wings in a slow glide to match the speed of the distant male. The other had slowed down considerably, and looked to be tired.

"He may have to land soon," said Tessa worriedly, "but we can't get any closer in case he attacks."

"I understand." said Snap, watching as the other sank down onto a small island in the ocean.

"Hmm, he must have listed east while we weren't paying attention, because that looks like Cinnabar!"

"It does! That means he's heading towards Pallet Town!"

"My old home!" Tessa gasped, "I hope he doesn't ruin it!"

"If he tries, we'll stop him!" stated Snap, landing softly on a small island a fair distance from Cinnabar, but still in plain view.

After a few minutes, the other Flygon struggled into the air. He looked disheveled from his long and tiring flight, but was still flying strong.

"Ready to go?" asked Tessa.

"Way ahead of you!" answered Snap as she sprang into the air, churning her great wings to gain altitude.

* * *

They followed the Shiny for three hours, waiting nearby each time he stopped at a small island to rest. He was traveling straight for Pallet Town, just as Tessa had feared; but just before he got there, he swerved west.

Tessa watched carefully, and saw the exhausted Pokemon disappear in a cave a few miles away.

"He's stopped. Why don't we go down to the town and visit people while we wait to see what he does?" asked Tessa.

"Fine with me, I need a rest from all this flying."

"Yeah, but you need to meet my friends and family first!"

"Okay, which house?"

"The white one by the forest."

Snap landed gracefully at the front porch. When her wings were safely folded, Tessa's mother came running out of the house.

"Tessa! I haven't seen you in such a long time! How are you?"

"Hi, Mom. This is one of my Pokemon, Snap."

"_Flygon_!" said Snap.

"Nothing like arriving in style, huh dinkus." said Tessa's sister, coming out of the house.

"Hey, Amber. Nice to see you again! How're your Pokemon doing?"

"Thorn evolved, and Bunny is doing great. The rest are fine; I see you have a Flygon now."

"Yeah."

"Well, come in! Let's not stand around all day!" said Tessa's mom, beckoning the sisters inside.

"Snap, return!" called Tessa, and the Flygon gratefully turned into red energy and was sucked into the sphere.

* * *

The Shiny Flygon watched from afar as the female was absorbed in one of the humans blasted Poke'balls. He cried out in anger, but was still too tired to fly; he would do something about the problem later, after he had rested.

For now, he curled up in a corner of the deserted cave, ready to sleep and regain his health. A horrible image of the female Flygon being turned into red light invaded his thoughts as he fell asleep.

* * *

Cougar arrived on the mainland of Kanto. The trip had taken a whole day, and he still had some serious biking to do if he wanted to get to Pallet Town in time to help with the Flygon. He took his mach bike out as soon as he got off the boat.

He had to call back Sparkle because she was too big to fit in the basket, but Jaycou was still able to ride. He set the Baltoy in the container and set off. The bike sped down the road, but he was in Vermilion, and he had to get to Pallet Town fast!

He stopped to ask directions from a man who was weeding his garden. The man laughed and pointed down the road.

"In a mile or so, you'll come to a small cave. Enter it, and it'll bring ya to Viridian. Go south from there, and you'll get to Pallet Town in no time! Look out for Diglett, mind ya."

"Thank you!" called Cougar, already on his way.

The cave was just where the man had said it would be, and Cougar only hesitated a second before entering. It was dark, but torches had been set up at intervals to light the way for travelers. Apparently, this was a well-used path.

He biked quietly for most of the way, but suddenly, a brown head popped up in front of him, and he braked as fast as he could. The bike stopped abruptly, and sent him flying over the bars.

"Yah!" he yelled as he hit the ground.

The tiny Diglett came up to him.

"_Diglett?_" it said.

"I'm fine, are you okay?"

"_Diglett, dig!_" the Diglett exclaimed, smiling.

"Good, I have to be on my way, then."

"_Diglett._"

"Bye." said Cougar as he got on his bike.

"_Dig_!"

"Huh, what?" asked Cougar.

"He seems to want to go with you. He wants to make up for tripping you." answered Jaycou, who had miraculously managed to stay in the basket.

"Really? Well, he could travel ahead to warn other Pokemon not to pop up in front of us."

The Diglett nodded once, and was gone. Cougar got back on the bike, and the rest of the tunnel proved to be uneventful. He came to the end of the cave, and suddenly, the Diglett was traveling beside him.

"Hey, Diglett, thanks for warning the others. You don't have to go with me just because you think owe me. It was an accident, I understand."

"_Dig, diglett, dig, dig, diglett, dig_!"

"He thanks you for you're kindness. He says that from now on, Diglett will always help you whenever you're in need."

"Thank you, Diglett. Here, I'll give you this for helping and being a good friend." said Cougar, tying a focus band around the Pokemon's head.

"_Dig, lett, lett, dig_!"

"He says that he will wear it proudly, and it will symbolize the friendship between Diglett and human."

"Goodbye, Diglett. My name is Cougar."

"_Dig, dig_."

"His name is Sander."

Cougar waved as he left the tunnel. The Diglett watched till the human was out of sight, and then disappeared into the cool earth of Diglett Cave.

* * *

The Flygon woke suddenly from a terrible dream. He jumped up, ready to fight, but the terrible human was gone, though the image of the steel-edged whip still lingered in his mind. He hoped that the vicious human was either dead or too injured to go after him again; he didn't want to train anymore.

A growl in his stomach brought him to his current problem; he needed food. He limped to the edge of the cave, favoring his sore left leg, and scratched the scar on his neck where the chain used to be. He saw a few plump Rattata in the distance, and lifted off.

His wings were aching from the strain of the previous day, and he winced from the sting of the newly opened gash in the membrane. The Rattata still had not seen him, and he folded his wings and dived for the kill. There was a panicked squeak, and he had a limp Pokemon in his jaws.

He traveled back to the cave to enjoy his meal, and ravenously ripped into the fresh meat. The Rattata wasn't much of a meal, but he was too hungry to care. Soon, only the larger bones remained, and the Flygon leapt out of the cave to hunt again.

The Rattata were gone, but there was still other prey. He saw a group of Pikachu past a town a few miles off, and flew towards them. His eye caught a particularly large Raichu in their midst, and he marked it as his prey.

The Pikachu cried out as he approached, and he cursed his luck. Surprisingly, they stood their ground, and with a chorus of '_Pika!_' they shot dozens of Thundershocks at him. The bolts hit him, but instead of electrocuting him, as the 'chu expected, they just bounced off him.

'They've obviously never met a Flygon before.' the Flygon thought to himself as he picked the Raichu from the group. He flew the lengthy distance back to his cave, and finally satisfied his hunger.

"Now for the human problem..." he said to himself.

He licked the gash on his wing, making sure that it had no infection before he took off again. The sore leg would remain a problem, but it always was, and always had been since the human trainer had broken it years ago.

With a loud cry, he rose from the ledge. He scanned the town, and finally found the human who had been following him. She was outside a white house, talking with two other females and a boy who was on a bike.

The Flygon began flapping his wings so that a cloud of sand surrounded him. He bellowed in anger, and flew towards the group. The female human looked up into the sky, and her eyes widened as she saw him coming.


	13. 13: Battle

Chapter Thirteen

"Everybody, in the house!" called Tessa as she saw the Flygon whipping up a Sandstorm in the distance, "The Flygon's coming! Cougar, stay back unless I need you to help. Flame, go!"

The Charizard materialized in the air above the trainers. He realized the situation as soon as he saw the Flygon, and sped through the air to meet it before it descended on the town.

"Flame, blow away that sand!" shouted Tessa from the back of Snap.

The Charizard created a massive Whirlwind that made the sand condense and fly away in a cloud. The Flygon roared a challenge, and shot a powerful Hyper Beam at Flame.

The Charizard dodged, but the formidable attack grazed his wing. He cried out in pain, and his wing crumpled automatically. Flame dropped to the ground like a stone as the Flygon shrieked in victory.

Suddenly, a powerful, wavering Fire Blast flew up from the ground and scorched the Flygon. It screamed in pain and rolled to stop its wings from burning.

Tessa looked down and saw that Sparkle was out, and Cougar waved. Suddenly, the Shiny Flygon used Dragonbreath, and the attack hit Sparkle head on. The Ninetales cried out and tried to move, but she was paralyzed. Cougar rushed forward with some paralyze heal to help her.

Flame had gotten airborne again, and looked angry. He used Fly, slicing through the air to ram the Flygon hard in the side. The Pokemon's left wing snapped to it's side as it cried out in pain, and it fell to the earth in a cloud of dust.

"Snap, use Sand Tomb!" shouted Tessa to her ride.

The female Flygon's eyes glowed, and the dirt around the fallen Shiny rumbled as if alive. It wrapped around the male's wings in a huge mound, making it impossible for him to move.

The Flygon sent out one last Hyper Beam, and lay still, watching the approaching humans with malice. As Tessa got close, he growled, but Flame and Snap snarled, and he fell silent.

"Cougar, look at this!" said Tessa, pointing to the ugly scars on the Flygon's feet and neck.

"I wonder who did that?" thought Cougar out loud.

"I bet it was his previous owner! That scum, I hate people who abuse Pokemon! No wonder he attacked that trainer and escaped."

The Flygon looked carefully at the two humans, he coughed once, and glared.

"Nice of a _human_ to say that, really. If you could get this sand off me, I need to lick my wing."

"We sure we can trust you?" asked Tessa.

The Flygon lifted his head abruptly, and stared at Tessa.

"So you can speak Pokemon, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Then why do you still imprison them, _human_? Why do you still keep them in Poke'balls and make them fight?"

"Hey, they choose to go with me! I _never_ force them to stay!" exclaimed Tessa; the Pokemon behind her nodded their support.

The Flygon looked at all of the other Pokemon, all saying that they chose to go with their trainer, and sighed in defeat. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he faced Tessa defiantly.

"Yeah, well why did you attack me then, _human_?"

"You were _going_ to attack my hometown, you _did_ attack Fallarbor, and my name is _Tessa_, not human, _Flygon_!" Tessa shrieked at the now cringing beast.

"Okay, okay. I give in. Now can I get out of this mound of sand?"

"Why?"

"I got a cut on my wing."

"Fine, Snap?"

The female nodded, and the sand fell off the Flygon, making him free to move. He stood up sulkily, and began cleaning his left wing. Soon, a nasty gash could be seen among all the dirt. The Flygon twisted around, trying to reach a difficult patch, but it was just out of his reach.

"Here, let me help you." said Snap, coming up and cleaning the dirt out of the deepest part of the gash.

The Flygon winced, but did not pull away. The gash rapidly became clean, and Tessa asked if she could put a bandage on the wing.

"Sure, why not."

Tessa pulled out a large bandage from her backpack and carefully put it on the Flygon's wing. He helped her tie it, and then flapped them once to test the dressing. When it did not fly off, he smiled at the gathering.

"You sure know how to treat injuries."

"I have to, I have a reserve for Pokemon at home."

"A reserve?"

"Yeah, maybe you've heard of it? It's called Shining Lakeside Reserve. I bought the entire thing for my Pokemon so that they could live like they were wild."

"Nice! How big is it?"

"It's about a hundred and twenty square acres in all. There's every type of habitat, including some fenced off ocean, and a small volcano."

"Now _that's_ a territory." said the Flygon in awe.

"Sure is! I never heard that you had an entire reserve!" exclaimed Cougar after Jaycou had translated the last sentence that the Flygon had said.

"I know, the information isn't widely known. Only the Professors and Pokemon researchers know much about it; that's because I don't want greedy people to try and capture the Pokemon that don't want to leave."

"So you keep an entire peninsula to yourself and the Pokemon you caught?" asked Sparkle.

"No, the wild Pokemon that were already there can stay if they want. Most of them do since they don't have to worry about being captured, but the predators have to agree to be careful about who they prey on, since they could get seriously injured if they go after my trained Pokemon."

"Hmm. Do humans go there often?" asked the Flygon thoughtfully.

"No, it's not a safari, it's a reserve. No humans are allowed without special permission from me."

"Great, when do I get to go there?"

"Why, you want to go?"

"Yeah, the place seems like a perfect territory for me."

"So you want to live there?"

Tessa looked carefully at the large Pokemon; she smiled slightly and shook her head.

"You do realize that I'd have to capture you to bring you there? It's a long journey, and I can't fit a full grown Flygon on a boat."

The Flygon looked at Tessa carefully, considering the choice. He finally nodded and turned to Tessa with a slight smile on his bug-like face.

"Yeah, so go ahead, capture me, I won't fight."

"Okay."  
Tessa pulled out a Poke'ball and gently touched it to the Flygon's head. The Shiny was engulfed in red light, and drawn into the ball. The sphere twitched a few times, and went still. Tessa picked it up and turned to the group.

"Well, why don't we all go home?"

A cheer went up from both Pokemon and human. Even Lavender, who was now back on Tessa's shoulder, seemed to be tired of adventure for a while. Tessa laughed and called her Pokemon back.

"Great job, everyone! You guys deserve a rest."

* * *

_One Month Later, Hoenn..._

Tessa congratulated Cougar on beating the Elite Four; he had been raising Jaycou and Sparkle for quite some time, and he had finally achieved his dream. Tessa hadn't been surprised when he had found the reserve to tell her.

"Great job, Cougar, I knew you could do it!"

"Thanks Tessa, I never could have done it without your help!"

"Giving me too much credit again, huh?"

"Nope."

"Well, what'll you be doing now that you've accomplished your goal?"

"Well, I've been thinking about trying to beat the Orange League. I know a Diglett that wants to help me, and it would be a great challenge."

"You're right. Oh, let me give you something in congratulations. Wait here."

Tessa hurried to her barn, where Snap and Azure, the Shiny Flygon, were currently residing. She went to the heated shelf and took out a jeweled box. She carefully traveled back to the house, and presented it to Cougar.

"Here, this is a very special present, take care of it well on your travels."

Cougar opened the box, and gasped. Nestled in the warm material and cotton, there was a large, greenish egg. Cougar carefully replaced the lid and sat down.

"Wow, thanks! This is one of the best presents I've ever gotten!"

"I'm glad you like it. The instructions on taking care of it are folded near the side of the box. There's also a Poke'ball in the lid for when it hatches, so you can catch it."

"This is so great, I can't thank you enough!"

"Don't worry, it's a present from everybody at the reserve, for helping me when Azure was feral."

"I won't let you down. I'll call you when it hatches, but I have to go now so I don't miss my boat. Goodbye!" said Cougar, slipping out the door.

"Bye, good luck!" said Tessa; she waved as Cougar sped down the road on his new trick bike he had gotten for his sixteenth birthday.

* * *

Tessa walked back to the barn. Snap and Azure were waiting to be groomed by her, because a rather sticky substance had covered them when they tried to eat a Gloom.

"Hey, guys. Time for a bath!"

Tessa took out a brush and water hose. She had Snap handle the hose while she scrubbed Azure, and vice versa. Soon the two were clean, and the entire group had fun soaking each other with the hose. The three were soon collapsed in a laughing heap.

Tessa caught a paper that had flown through the barn door because of the wind. She looked at it, and gasped in surprise.

_Boy Wins Tournament Single-Handedly_

_A day ago, the boy who was all over the news last month_  
_did it again! Zack Mendon of Goldenrod City, using only  
__one Pokemon, defeated the Champion of the National  
__Water Pokemon Tournament! He is now fully healed after  
__the feral Pokemon incident of last month, and has come  
__back strong and with a vengeance. The boy refused to comment,  
__but we are very sure that he is very proud to have won this  
__momentous occasion. _

"Whoa, look at this!" exclaimed Tessa, showing the paper to the two Flygon.

Azure snarled and Snap gasped.

"What is _HE_ doing in the paper?!" demanded Azure.

"I don't know, but was he the trainer that abused you?"

"Yes." hissed Azure menacingly.

"Well, then. He seems to have collected a few more defenseless Pokemon. What do you say we go stop him cold? I'll call the Police and report that we've found him, and we'll go confront him and make him pay for what he's done."


	14. 14: The Hatching Joke

Chapter Fourteen

"It's _you_," hissed the boy as Tessa walked into his training gym.

"Yes, it's me. What're you going to do about it?"

"Well, since you _cheated_ last time, I want a rematch, _girl_!"

"Good, one on one?"

"Yes, and there'll be no shady business this time!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Zack."

"Hah! Just because you saw my name in the paper doesn't mean anything, _girl_, I'll still win!"

"We'll see."

"Go, Swampert!"

"Go, Azure!"

The Shiny Flygon materialized in the center of the arena, and the boy gasped. His Swampert just looked more menacing.

"That's _MY_ Flygon, _girl_! If I win, I get him back!"

"Hah!"

"Swampert, use Muddy Water!"

"Azure, use Faint Attack!"

The Swampert shot water directly into the ground, making a huge expanse of mud. It then slapped it across the arena, hitting Azure in the side and making him cry out. The Flygon faded into the shadows, and the Swampert was blown over by some invisible force.

"Swampert, use Hydro Pump!"

"Azure, Screech!"

The Swampert began to shoot water across at Azure, but the Flygon opened his mouth and emitted a terrible shriek that made the water Pokemon scrunch up and hold its ears. Zack was also stumbling around, trying to get past the awful noise.

"Azure, Hyper Beam!"

The Flygon flew up to the ceiling, still screeching, and sent out a huge blast that completely engulfed the Swampert. It screamed in pain, writhing about in the energy blast, but did not faint.

"Swampert, use Ice Beam!"

Tessa gasped as the Swampert unleashed a beam of ice. Azure bellowed in pain, and his wings became too heavy to fly; he plummeted to the earth and landed with a dull thud.

The boy laughed, but Azure stirred. Tessa felt new hope rise within her, and cheered the Flygon on. It was time to use her secret weapon.

"Azure, use Solarbeam!"

A green light started glowing around the Flygon as he absorbed energy from the sun filtering through the skylight. The boy screamed for the Swampert to use another Ice Beam, but Azure had already absorbed enough sun. A huge blast of green light shot from his mouth and hit the Swampert. Its pained cry abruptly stopped as it fainted dead away, and Tessa cheered in victory.

"WHY YOU LITTLE CHEAT!" roared the boy as he pulled out three more Poke'balls, "I'LL BEAT YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

The Poke'balls opened, and suddenly there was a Walrein, Ninjask, and Manetric on the field. The doors swiftly bust open, and dozens of Police officers filed in the gym.

"You're under arrest for violation of the entirety of chapters 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 in the rules and regulations of the Pokemon League guidebook! You have the right to remain silent-"

As the Police carted Zack away, Tessa walked up to Azure and stroked his side.

"Well, Azure, you did it. You finally got back at him for what he did to you."

"Yeah, but I had to hurt an innocent Pokemon to do it." said Azure sadly.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Zack's Pokemon license will be taken away, and he won't be able to have any more Pokemon. I only wish we could help all Pokemon with bad owners."

A Police officer walked up to the two friends.

"Hello. I want to congratulate you two on a fine job! We've been looking for this guy for years. He only had four Pokemon, but I'm sure that we can find good homes for them."

"Good, I'm glad," said Tessa.

"Well, I have some good news for you two! There was a sizable amount of money on this guys head, and since you two discovered him, you get it!"

"That's nice!" exclaimed Azure.

"Sure is, Azure!" agreed Tessa; the policemen looked at her strangely, and then a look of realization dawned on his face.

"You can speak Pokemon! But you still look familiar in a way...Oh! You're the Shiny Assassin!"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, it was really a pleasure to meet you. You can come by the station to pick up your reward later," he said as he left with the other officers.

"Well, let's go home, Azure, we did what we came for."

* * *

_Two Months Later..._

Cougar was walking through a dense forest. It was humid, but he was able to see all sorts of Pokemon he'd never heard of before. A swarm of Beedrill drifted lazily overhead, and he stopped to watch them collect nectar from the trees. Jaycou floated beside him, and Sparkle bounded through the brush up ahead.

Suddenly, he felt his backpack shake. He hurriedly pulled it off and set it on the ground, digging for what he was sure had moved. He felt the sharp corners and pulled out the jeweled box that Tessa had given him for defeating the Elite Four.

His assumption had been right! The box was shaking jerkily in his hands. He set it down and opened it just in time to see the first crack appear on the egg.

"Sparkle, Jaycou, Sander! The egg is hatching!" he called.

All his Pokemon hurried to the spot to see the egg. It shook again, and the crack became wider. Suddenly, a large piece flew off, and the group could see part of what was inside.

The creature squeaked, and Cougar saw a flash of grayish-green hide. The sides of the egg split, and the four travelers were confronted with a squat creature with huge jaws and starry eyes.

"_Trapinch_!" it squeaked.

Tessa sat grooming the beautiful green and blue scales of Azure. Flame, Blue, Orange, Lavender, and Brown were also in the barn and waiting for their turn to be combed. Tessa finished brushing Azure and moved to Blue. Suddenly, the computer in the corner clicked on.

"_Call for Tessa_!" it beeped.

Tessa sighed and clicked the message. To her surprise, Ivy's face popped up.

"Hey, Tessa! How ya doing?"

"Great, Ivy! So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I just got another Pokemon, and that means I have seven. I want to ask if you would take Twilight so that he doesn't have to stay in a box."

Orange was suddenly by the screen, and listening to the conversation intently. Tessa giggled.

"Sure Ivy. I know he'll be welcome here."

"Good, I'll send him now."

"Okay," said Tessa; a Poke'ball materialized in the machine beside the computer and Tessa pushed the button.

Twilight appeared in the room, and was instantly bowled over by an overenthusiastic Orange. The two disentangled, and walked up to the computer.

"I see he'll be more than welcome!" giggled Ivy.

"Yeah, anything else you want me to do?"

"Nope, thanks for taking Twilight. You should get a job raising people's Pokemon, you'd be good at it."

"Nah, I have too many competing for my attention as it is!" laughed Tessa.

"Bye!"

"Goodbye."

Tessa clicked the computer off, and turned to Twilight and Orange.

"Why don't you two go have fun? You can worry about grooming tomorrow."

"Thanks!" exclaimed Orange; she and Twilight sped off into the evening light.

Tessa went back to grooming Blue, and Snap walked in.

"Hey Snap, how are you?"

"I'm doing great, Tessa! You know, I was just thinking; that egg you gave Cougar must have hatched by now."

"You're right! It would be funny to see his face when he finds out what it is. I wonder if he realizes that regular Trapinch are just brown?"

_The End_ _started_: June 2003 _ended_: July 2003


End file.
